EU to unveil Arctic strategy with plans for cables and icebreakers — France 24
The European Union is preparing to unveil a new strategy for the Arctic aimed at strengthening the bloc’s presence in the region amid melting ice, geopolitical competition and security tensions. The draft document includes initiatives in critical raw materials, an icebreaker fleet, undersea cables and satellite communications, France 24 reports, citing a draft seen by AFP.
European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela said the new reality in the Arctic requires Europe to be a strong and reliable partner. According to him, the strategy must respond to accelerating climate change as well as growing security and geopolitical tensions.
Cables and satellite communications
According to the 20-page draft strategy, Brussels plans to lay a “sovereign and secure” undersea cable between Greenland and the EU mainland. It is envisaged as part of a broader pan-Arctic cable project that is also to connect Canada, Japan and South Korea.
The EU is also working to provide satellite communications in the Arctic through the IRIS² satellite constellation project, intended to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
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Partnership and security challenges
The draft strategy provides for stronger cooperation with countries outside the EU that share the bloc’s approach, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Norway. The possibility of holding a regular summit of “northern neighbourhood” partners is also being considered.
The document pays special attention to countering Russia as an aggressor state. The challenges cited include hybrid threats, in particular drone incursions and sabotage of undersea cables. The EU plans to improve data sharing to monitor Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers, which is used to circumvent sanctions.
Brussels will also develop options for joint procurement, pooling and shared use of polar vessels with allies in order to strengthen the European icebreaker fleet. Other areas covered by the document include investments in renewable energy and critical raw materials projects.
