The European Commission has announced a €200 million investment package for Greenland, alongside a new joint declaration with Greenland and Denmark, during a visit to Nuuk by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The package, described as a Global Gateway Partnership Package, is due to be invested “this year and the next”, the European Commission informed in a release on Monday.
Von der Leyen said the funding was part of “close cooperation” with Greenland and would “create new opportunities.”
The joint declaration was signed in Nuuk by von der Leyen, Greenland’s Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
The agreement updates a previous declaration from 2015 and covers areas including education and training, infrastructure, clean energy, digital connectivity, fisheries, and research and innovation.
Where the money is set to go
Some of the planned spending focuses on digital connections, including an “Enhanced Satellite Connectivity” project in partnership with Greenland telecoms company Tusass to expand satellite capacity over the next five years, the Commission said.
The EU is also supporting work to assess whether data centres could be viable in Greenland as energy and digital infrastructure develop.
In energy, the EU will back a programme led by Greenland’s national energy utility Nukissiorfiit to modernise energy supply in remote settlements using hybrid renewable systems.
The EU and Greenland are also exploring support for expanding the Buksefjord hydropower plant — Greenland’s main hydropower facility — to respond to rising electricity demand in Nuuk.
The package also includes support to advance sustainable mining projects linked to European industry, including technical analysis and efforts to connect investors with projects, the Commission said.
It cited the Malmbjerg mining project and GreenRoc’s Amitsoq graphite project, which it said is an EU Strategic Project under the Critical Raw Materials Act.
The EU will also support Greenland’s government to set up a Programme Management Unit to help deliver policy priorities and EU-backed programmes.
Remaining funding will be used to prepare additional programmes in areas including tourism and housing.
Greenland is the largest recipient of EU support per capita among the EU’s Overseas Countries and Territories, with €225 million earmarked for 2021–2027.
Under the current fisheries protocol, the EU provides €17.3 million a year to Greenland, including €3.2 million to support its national strategy for sustainable fisheries.
