EU warns: Russia, China are creating new security challenges in Arctic

Russia’s military activity and China’s growing interest in the Arctic are creating new security challenges for Europe, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday as European leaders gathered in Rovaniemi, Finland, for the first European Arctic Summit.

The two-day European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi (13–14 September) was hosted by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. Among those present were Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany, Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark, Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Estonia, Andris Kulbergs, Prime Minister of Latvia, Gitanas Nausėda, President of Lithuania, Nicușor Dan, President of Romania, Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, António Costa, President of the European Council, Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Jozef Síkela, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships.

For years, the Arctic has been discussed primarily through the lenses of climate change, environmental protection and the opening of new economic routes. But as Russia rebuilds its military presence and China takes a growing interest in the region, Europe is increasingly treating the High North as a security issue.

European Council President António Costa said at a press conference following the summit that the Arctic should be considered a matter of European security rather than a regional issue.

“Arctic security is European security,” Costa said, pointing out that Denmark, Finland and Sweden are EU member states and Arctic nations.

He said the EU’s priorities for the Arctic strategy adopted in 2021 – climate protection, sustainable development and peaceful cooperation, remained valid, but that the security dimension needed to adapt to a new geopolitical reality.

According to Costa, the Arctic is also being affected by the weakening of the multilateral system, with sovereignty, territorial integrity and principles of international law such as freedom of navigation facing growing challenges.

“Russia, the largest Arctic nation, is one of the main drivers of this trend,” he said.

Costa said the EU would remain a long-term partner to Arctic allies, both European and non-European, and backed closer coordination stretching “from the Baltic, through the Arctic and the North Atlantic” to strengthen a rules-based approach to regional security and defence.

The new geopolitical reality would also be reflected in the EU’s next long-term budget, Costa said, including increased investment in European security and defence and in the Arctic region.

Alongside security, however, he stressed that the EU could not overlook the effects of climate change or the economic opportunities emerging in the region. Critical raw materials, in particular, could contribute to Europe’s strategic autonomy, he said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia was reopening former Soviet military bases in the High North and conducting missile exercises in the region, while China was showing increasing interest in the Arctic.

“We also see that Russia is opening the ex-Soviet military bases. They are also doing missile exercises here in the high north. We also see that China is increasingly more interested in the region, so we have to remain vigilant,” Kallas told journalists on arrival at the summit.

She linked the changing security environment to climate change, which is rapidly affecting the Arctic and opening new maritime routes.

“Climate change is having a huge impact that is also opening a new geopolitical contest, when it comes to maritime routes, for example,” she said.

The EU’s response will include a new Arctic strategy, which Kallas said would put security at its core. The strategy is expected to be presented in October and will include concrete projects, although she did not provide details ahead of the announcement.

“We are also putting forward a new EU Arctic Strategy that has security at its core, because it is clear that this is part of the security architecture of Europe,” she said.

Kallas also highlighted the activities of Russia’s shadow fleet as a security and environmental concern in the Arctic. She described the vessels as “ticking ecological bombs” in European waters and said they were also helping to finance Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The security concerns come as the Arctic is becoming increasingly important not only because of its strategic position but also because of the economic opportunities created by a changing climate, including access to critical raw materials.

Kallas said discussions at the summit would also include the capabilities needed in the Arctic, including icebreakers, but declined to give details of the projects planned under the new strategy.

Asked about a Russian strike on a train station in western Ukraine that narrowly missed a group of former European leaders, Kallas said she believed the attack was intended to discourage Western countries from supporting Ukraine and travelling there to demonstrate solidarity.

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“It was clearly a message to the Western world,” she said, arguing that Europe should respond by increasing rather than reducing its support for Ukraine.

“We should show that we are there for Ukraine and we are not scared off,” Kallas said.

Sources: EUalive’s partners Suspilne and BGNES, Council of the EU newsroom

Caption: European Arctic Summit, Visit to Lapland Air Wing. From left to right: Friedrich MERZ (Federal Chancellor, Germany), Kaja KALLAS (High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy), Jean-Noël BARROT (Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France)