{"id":468665,"date":"2026-10-20T17:33:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T15:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/10\/20\/lue-rinnova-la-sua-strategia-per-lartico-von-der-leyen-regione-cruciale-per-il-nostro-futuro\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T18:16:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:16:07","slug":"the-eu-updates-its-arctic-strategy-von-der-leyen-a-region-crucial-to-our-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/10\/20\/the-eu-updates-its-arctic-strategy-von-der-leyen-a-region-crucial-to-our-future\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU updates its Arctic Strategy; von der Leyen: \u201cA region crucial to our future\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Strasbourg \u2013 The pleas of the twelve European countries<\/b><\/a> calling for a greater presence in the Arctic have been heeded. Climate change and growing geopolitical rivalries in the region have led the European Commission and the High Representative for the EU\u2019s Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas<\/strong>, to adopt today<\/a> (20 October), at the College of Commissioners, the Union\u2019s new Arctic strategy. The aim: to protect a region that is now \u201cno longer immune to global geopolitical tensions,\u201d as the High Representative emphasised at a press conference in Strasbourg. \u201cThe Arctic is a place where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide; it is not a distant frontier that concerns others: it is part of the European Union,\u201d stated the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>. For the President of the EU Commission, this is a region that is \u201cclose, interconnected, and of crucial importance for the future\u201d of the EU, not least because \u201cthe fact that Russia is rebuilding its military presence in the Arctic, implementing hybrid strategies against neighbouring countries and reshaping the region\u2019s security, has repercussions for the entire European Union.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the Arctic, \u201cthe list of challenges is long,\u201d said Kallas. In a region that is warming almost four times faster than the global average<\/strong>, the adopted text sets out a new framework for cooperation based on four strategic priorities: strengthening security, tackling climate change, economic prosperity and opportunities for local communities. With over 500,000 EU citizens living in the region and three Arctic Member States (Denmark, Finland, and Sweden), Europe reaffirms the importance of the High North. But \u201cwe are not drawing borders on a map, nor are we making any specific geographical or territorial claims,\u201d emphasises a European official. \u201cRather, it is a question of defining a broader shared space, where we see a convergence of interests with other partners, with whom we intend to collaborate,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n

As highlighted by High Representative Kaja Kallas, in the face of growing activism by Russia and China, \u201cArctic security is European security.<\/strong>\u201d These are what Kallas describes as the challenges that \u201cstand out.\u201d On the one hand, Russia is \u201cexpanding its military presence in the far north, has restored Soviet-era bases and is testing new weapons in the region.\u201d On the other hand, Chinese activities \u201crequire close scrutiny.\u201d All this is happening because \u201cthe retreat of the ice is opening up access to resources and sea routes and intensifying competition for control over them.\u201d This context \u201cmakes Arctic security and European security a fundamental aspect in defining our interests,\u201d explained the High Representative. \u201cWe plan to step up investment in surveillance infrastructure, transport and military capabilities,\u201d she stated. <\/p>\n

In terms of resilience and defence, the EU will work in a complementary manner with NATO <\/strong> to boost Europe\u2019s icebreaker capacity and protect critical infrastructure. Key operational developments include the establishment of a Maritime Security Hub (a new centre for maritime security) and an Arctic Cable Hub (a centre dedicated to submarine cables), designed to monitor the submarine cable network, combat illegal fishing, track vessels belonging to the so-called “shadow fleet”, identify illegal fishing activities and instances of pollution, and improve the coordination of search and rescue operations, including through investment in smart technologies to detect potential threats to critical infrastructure. <\/p>\n

To tackle the environmental emergency, the EU is renewing its commitment to keeping oil, coal, and gas in the ground<\/strong>, while maintaining the position already set out in its previous 2021 Communication not to increase the extraction of mineral and fossil resources from the Arctic. \u201cWe will not carry out drilling in the Arctic, and we will not purchase hydrocarbons from that region. This position continues to be based on climate and environmental considerations, which remain unchanged,\u201d reiterates a senior EU official. This is also because it would take at least a decade to launch extraction activities, and \u201cduring this time, we will not need such resources, and certainly not those from the Arctic.\u201d New scientific and ocean monitoring platforms are also being launched, including the OceanEye initiative and the new EU Polar Research Hub, designed to strengthen the link between scientific research and policy-making. Meanwhile, from an economic and infrastructural perspective, the strategy focuses on renewable energy, critical raw materials, and the strengthening of dual-use routes, including military mobility, by accelerating key projects such as the Nordic Rail, the IRIS\u00b2 satellite coverage<\/a> to establish secure connections, and the Pan-Arctic Cable, which will be \u201ca segment of an infrastructure linking Europe, Greenland, and Canada, and continuing to Japan,\u201d with \u201cfeasibility studies already underway for this project,\u201d as a senior European official explains. On the energy front, on the other hand, the EU is examining the Aurora power line project, which would link the electricity grids of Finland and Sweden, with a view to harnessing the region\u2019s potential for hydropower, geothermal energy, wind power, and renewable hydrogen. <\/p>\n

Finally, the issue of young people and indigenous peoples. In addition to support for regional development \u2013 provided by more than \u20ac1 billion in cohesion funds (2021\u20132027) \u2013 Erasmus+ exchanges<\/strong> are being expanded, a Youth Sounding Board<\/em> has been established in Greenland, and specific measures have been launched to combat information manipulation and foreign disinformation. <\/p>\n

The new document updates the <\/span>action framework established in 2021 <\/b><\/a>to respond to the profound geopolitical and environmental changes of recent years. However, as Kallas clarified, \u201csince our previous Arctic strategy of 2021, we have been facing a much more challenging security environment.\u201d The EU\u2019s aim is to strengthen cooperation with partners in the region \u2013 in particular <\/span>Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States \u2013 and with local bodies such as the <\/span>Arctic Mayors\u2019 Forum. As noted by the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef S\u00edkela<\/strong>, the Arctic represents Europe\u2019s “northern neighbourhood,” the stability of which has a direct impact on the continent\u2019s security.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new document updates the framework for action established in 2021 to respond to the profound geopolitical and environmental changes of recent years. \u201cSince our previous strategy, we have been facing a much more challenging security environment,\u201d the High Representative explained<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7896,"featured_media":468653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25707],"tags":[35169,30168,31353,33830,36306],"class_list":["post-468665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-politics","tag-europa","tag-arctic-en","tag-jozef-sikelaon","tag-kaja-kallas","tag-strategia-sullartico"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":468666,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468665\/revisions\/468666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}