EU plans security-focused Arctic strategy as Russia reopens Soviet-era military bases
The European Union is preparing a new Arctic strategy with security “at its core” as Russia reopens former Soviet military bases and conducts missile exercises in the High North, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
Speaking ahead of the European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, Kallas said climate change was opening new maritime routes and intensifying geopolitical competition in the region.
“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,” she said.
The EU plans to unveil its new Arctic strategy in October. Kallas said it would include concrete projects, although she declined to provide details before discussions at the summit.
She said the EU would also consider what capabilities it needs in the Arctic, including icebreakers. Finland has proposed creating a common EU fleet of icebreakers, and Kallas said European leaders agreed that more vessels capable of navigating Arctic waters were needed.
Russia’s shadow fleet will also feature in the strategy, Kallas said, describing the vessels as “ticking ecological bombs” that pose environmental risks while helping finance Russia’s war against Ukraine.
- Share: