EU reveals new Arctic strategy amid Russia threat and Trump's Greenland interest

Satellite surveillance, undersea cable monitoring and help for EU members to buy icebreakers are at the heart of a new Arctic strategy the European Union presented on Tuesday.The document reflects the region's importance to security, according to the strategy andi t is the first update to the EU's Arctic strategy since 2021.The Arctic is of growing interest to major powers including the US, Russia, China and Europe, as melting ice opens up new shipping routes.US President Donald Trump tried to acquire Greenland, a territory of EU member Denmark, while friction ⁠has grown between Arctic nations and Russia since Moscow's ​2022 ⁠invasion of Ukraine.Crowds gather, as HMS Prince of Wales leaves Portsmouth Naval Base to lead The UK Carrier Strike Group on deployment to the Arctic and North Atlantic, on Operation Firecrest, which will focus on operational readiness, training, and strengthening NATO interoperability (PA)The strategy was produced by the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas."The Arctic is one place where the tectonic plates of geopolitics are colliding," said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission."When we see that sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the rules that have underpinned stability ​in the ⁠region can no longer be taken for ‌granted, we have to act," she told reporters in Strasbourg.The strategy is the latest in a series of EU steps focusing on the region.Last month, von der Leyen unveiled plans for €200 million of EU investments in Greenland.EU officials say Moscow has reopened and modernised Soviet-era military bases in the Arctic region in recent years. They pointed out that Russia has a large concentration of nuclear weapons on the Kola Peninsula, inside the Arctic Circle.They add that the Arctic has also become a testing ground for Russian missiles.A skier with his rifle on his back makes his way on accross the snow-covered landscape with sun-kissed Hiorthfjellet mountain in the background on February 18, 2026 at Longyearbyen on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard (AFP/Getty)Russia, for its part, has accused the NATO alliance of driving the region towards militarization.Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in August that Russia sought to preserve peace and stability and reduce threats to national security in the region.Reflecting increased concerns about the safety of vital undersea cables and pipelines, the EU strategy says it will set up a "maritime security hub" to share information between EU members and partners from various sources "from seabed to space".As a first step, the EU plans to set up an Arctic cable hub to monitor, protect and help repair cables, according to the strategy.The EU also aims to keep a closer eye on the Arctic as part of plans to expand its Copernicus satellite observation network.The 27-country bloc also needs more icebreakers, the strategy says.The bloc includes Arctic nations Finland, Sweden and Denmark.