Present in Rovaniemi, a Finnish city known as the home of Santa Claus, 12 countries have urged the EU to bolster its presence in the Arctic, where geopolitical tensions are high, between Russian threats and Donald Trump’s ambitions.
“Security in the Arctic must be ensured collectively,” the states argued, among which are France, Denmark and Sweden, in a joint declaration at the end of a summit in Rovaniemi.
For the head of European diplomacy, Europe primarily needs icebreakers.
“Given the situation in which we find ourselves, and taking into account climate change and the opening of sea routes, we need icebreakers (…) or ships capable of navigating in these very difficult conditions,” said Kaja Kallas at a press conference.
The Europeans discussed the possible EU funding of these icebreakers.
The interest in the Arctic has grown considerably since the adoption, in 2021, of the EU’s latest Arctic policy devoted to the region.
Seven months have passed since the American president threatened—for the third time—to seize Greenland by force, a vast Danish autonomous territory, triggering a major crisis among Western allies.
The tensions have cooled somewhat since between Europeans and Americans.
But European leaders have not forgotten these threats and now want to work together to study ways to strengthen their footprint in the region, also aware of the presence of a hostile Russia on the other side of the long Finnish border.
For them, Moscow constitutes a “significant and enduring” threat to security.
Present were: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. But also leaders from countries with no direct Arctic stake, such as Romanian President Nicușor Dan.
The objective: to show that “what is happening here is not a regional matter. It is a European issue,” emphasized the President of the European Council Antonio Costa to the press.
