EU Commissioner Jozef Síkela said the European Commission will present an updated EU Arctic Strategy later this year after holding talks in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, with Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and other local groups.
Síkela said he took part in an EU-Greenland Policy Dialogue — which he described as the first time an EU Commissioner has attended — and also met the Inuit Circumpolar Council, entrepreneurs and young people, according to his remarks released on Wednesday by the European Commission.
The Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average, bringing changes including new trade routes, access to resources used in modern industry and new security questions, he said.
Síkela stated that the updated strategy is being developed “with” Arctic partners and will include Greenlandic input at an early stage.
He noted that the European Commission has a proposal to nearly double EU funding for Greenland in the next budget cycle to €530 million from €225 million, and that the EU has a permanent office in Nuuk that opened in 2024.
Funding, infrastructure and energy projects
A new undersea cable linking Qaqortoq to Aasiaat is planned to provide around 1,000 kilometres of digital connectivity across Greenland, Síkela said.
He also pointed to what he described as Greenland’s first commercial hydropower project at Tasersiaq, and said there had been progress on projects involving critical raw materials — minerals and other materials used in technologies such as batteries and electronics.
The EU has allocated €202 million for education in Greenland between 2021 and 2027.
Síkela said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to present an investment package for Greenland later this year.
