The EU's New Arctic Strategy: 'A Good Starting Point,' Says Researcher

"It is good that the EU's Arctic policy has been updated, and this strategy is a good starting point for further efforts," EU expert Andreas Raspotnik tells High North News.

Raspotnik is Director of the High North Center at Nord University and Senior Researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute.

"Normally, such updates are made every four or five years. The major trigger this time was clearly Donald Trump's focus on Greenland and greater international attention towards the Arctic. At the beginning of the strategy, there is also much discussion of how Russia's war against Ukraine affects not only Europe, but of course also the Arctic. In light of this, it was necessary for the EU to renew its approach to the region," he points out.

In this round, the European Commission has for the first time referred to its Arctic policy as a strategy, the researcher notes.

"This is still a policy and a joint statement, so the text bears more of the character of a communication effort than a strategic effort. But referring to this as a strategy is, of course, important. The question is what this means in practice. Because a strategy is not just a document or a statement of intent, but a process for achieving something."

"People should come first"

The strategy outlines four priorities for the EU's efforts in the Arctic, which can briefly be summarised by the following keywords: security, climate, economy and people.

"Here, people come last, whereas in our part of the Arctic, we argue that people should always come first. If you want a secure Arctic, you need people there. If you want the Arctic to develop economically, you need people to drive such development. People should therefore be the main priority," Raspotnik comments.

The strong focus on security is precisely what is new in the EU's Arctic policy.

"Since 2008, the EU's Arctic policy has had three main pillars: protecting the climate and environment, supporting sustainable development, and promoting peace, stability and cooperation. These pillars are still in place, but what is new in the 2026 strategy is the strong emphasis on security", the researcher says, continuing:

"The Arctic is changing, Russia is a threat, China is also a threat to some extent, and the United States is unpredictable. This leads to the conclusion that we must be more vigilant regarding threats in the region, better prepared and more coordinated in our response."

"In other words, the threat picture has changed: while climate change was previously at the centre, the main focus is now on hard security threats – although climate change is, of course, still there."

Some of the EU's flagship security projects:

• Maritime security hub: The EU will develop a maritime security hub together with member states and partners to acilitate information sharing from the seabed to space. As a first step, the Union will support the establishment of an Arctic cable hub to monitor, protect and help repair of subsea cables in the North Atlantic and the Arctic. The hub will also be developed to include the tracking of shadow fleet vessels, detecting illegal fishing and pollution,  and improving search and rescue coordination.

• Expanding European icebreaker capacity: The EU will map industrial capabilities and Arctic operational needs, strengthen technological leadership, and support joint procurement and resource-sharing to improve the availability of advanced icebreakers across Europe.

• Strengthening situational awareness: The EU will enhance surveillance by expanding the EU satellite systems Copernicus and Galileo, which provide Earth observation data and navigation services, in order to better detect threats in the Arctic. The Union will also strengthen data-sharing for enhanced maritime domain awareness.

From talk to practice

"The strategy outlines a number of flagship projects, but says nothing about how they are to be realised. For example, how will the Arctic cable hub be financed, and where will it be established? What is the timeframe? Without funding for such measures, they will remain a mere wish list. At the same time, this is a 23-page strategy that provides broader guidance, and such matters must always be linked to broader political measures," Raspotnik says, continuing: 

"The EU's long-term budget for 2028-2034 is currently being negotiated. How much should be allocated to measures in the Arctic is always subject to political debate: Why should, for example, a Croat pay for efforts in the High North? In other words, it is challenging to get the Arctic into the budget. But to achieve this, one needs to talk about the region and have a strategy. Without this, nothing will happen."

The researcher also questions the flagship project to expand European icebreaker capacity.

"The focus on icebreakers makes no sense to me. The Finns need icebreakers, but in the Baltic Sea – not in the Arctic Ocean. One argument used is that icebreakers are needed because the Russians have so many, but one new icebreaker will not make a difference. In central parts of the European Arctic, such as off the coast of Norway and Iceland, there is no ice and no need for icebreaker capacity," he points out.

Northern neighbourhood

The strategy is entitled "Europe's Northern Neighbourhood: A New Strategy for the Arctic", and its first chapter is devoted to the neighbourhood concept.

This neighbourhood is described as a shared political, economic and strategic space – and a framework for structured cooperation in the Arctic with like-minded partners. The ambition is enhanced interaction and investment in joint projects.

Deepening the EU's partnership with Greenland is a cornerstone of this approach, it is  stated. Greenland is not a member of the EU, but is associated with the Union as an overseas territory.

The European Commission goes on to identify the Faroe Islands, Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States as partners in the northern neighbourhood, while also opening up for cooperation with other like-minded partners such as Japan and South Korea.

"The idea of a northern neighbourhood is interesting. The Arctic has changed as a result of the war in Ukraine and Trump, and cooperation formats such as the Northern Dimension and the Barents cooperation have fallen apart. This has left a vacuum in terms of regional governance, and the EU wants a more coordinated effort," says Raspotnik.

Three of our member states are Arctic countries [Finland, Sweden and Denmark, ed. note], , and more than half a million EU citizens live in the Arctic. For Europe, it is also our Northern Neighbourhood: close, connected and very critical to our future.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen

Regular summits

"The neighbourhood concept can provide some internal guidance within the EU on what it needs to focus more on in the north. The question is how this will be implemented in the long term, but the strategy provides a good starting point," the researcher continues. 

Among other things, building on the momentum from the recent European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, the EU will work with member states and like-minded partners to organise regular summits on the Arctic.

At the meeting in Rovaniemi, 12 EU countries called for the EU to take a more strategic and proactive role in the European Arctic.

"There is an internal effort within the EU to place greater emphasis on the Arctic, which is important. We saw this from the member states during the meeting in Rovaniemi, and last week the European Council – the EU's heads of state and government – underlined the strategic importance of the Arctic region. European Commission President von der Leyen has also shown considerable interest in the Arctic strategy. Now it remains to be seen how it will be implemented," says Raspotnik.