Russia in the Arctic represents the biggest long-term threat to regional stability and security, European leaders said after the first European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, on Monday. The meeting brought together leaders and representatives from 12 EU member states and marked a shift towards a stronger European focus on security, defence and strategic investment in the High North.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who hosted the summit, said participants agreed that Russia poses the main long-term security challenge in the region. The leaders also called for greater EU investment in critical raw materials, infrastructure and the economic development of the European Arctic.
“The Arctic must remain a peaceful region with progress and growth,” Orpo said, according to TV2 Norway’s account of the summit.
Russia in the Arctic changes Europe’s security priorities
The summit reflected how much the European approach to the Arctic has changed since the EU adopted its current Arctic policy in 2021. At the time, the strategy focused mainly on climate change, sustainable development and peaceful international cooperation.
President of the European Council António Costa said those priorities remain relevant but that European policy now has to respond to a different geopolitical environment.
“Arctic security is European security,” Costa said after the meeting. He noted that Denmark, Finland and Sweden are Arctic countries within the EU and argued that developments in the region therefore affect the whole bloc.
Costa also identified Russia as one of the main drivers of the deteriorating security environment, pointing to challenges to sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom of navigation.
Russia has the largest Arctic territory of any country. Its role has become an increasing concern for European governments as relations with Moscow have deteriorated and the strategic importance of northern sea routes, military infrastructure and critical resources has grown.
The EU is preparing a new Arctic strategy
Twelve EU member states represented at the meeting called for the Union to take a more strategic and proactive role in the European Arctic.
Finland, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden said in a joint statement that the EU should strengthen its Arctic engagement with adequate resources and adapt its policies to changing geopolitical conditions.
According to Reuters, the governments agreed that the EU should do more to support stability, sustainable development and prosperity while protecting European interests.
The European Commission and the European External Action Service are already updating the bloc’s Arctic policy. Costa said the new geopolitical situation would also be reflected in the EU’s next long-term budget, including through greater investment in European security and defence.
The updated strategy is expected to put considerably more emphasis on security and resilience than the 2021 policy, while maintaining climate protection and sustainable development as central priorities.
Critical raw materials are another part of the debate. The Arctic contains resources that the EU increasingly regards as important for reducing strategic dependencies, making northern investment part of both its economic and security policy.
Greenland remains a separate challenge with the USA
The summit also took place against the background of tensions between Denmark and the USA over Greenland.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in Rovaniemi that she remained optimistic that negotiations with Washington could produce a peaceful way forward. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that the USA should control Greenland, the self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
A working group involving Denmark, Greenland and the USA has been discussing the dispute since January, although little information about the talks has been made public.
“The working group continues to work and it is therefore too early to draw any conclusions, but I am quite optimistic that we can find a way forward,” Frederiksen said, according to Sweden Herald.
Her comments underline the complex security environment facing European Arctic governments. Russia is being identified as the principal long-term military and geopolitical threat, while relations with the USA have also been strained by the dispute over Greenland.
The Rovaniemi summit signals that the European Arctic is moving closer to the centre of EU security policy. The next test will be whether the revised Arctic strategy and the next EU budget translate the new political focus into sustained investment in defence, infrastructure and economic resilience across the region.
