Focus on the Arctic
The European Union will boost its strategic and proactive role in the European Arctic region to pre-empt Russian threats.
Roxana Vasile, 15.09.2026, 14:00
Gathered at a summit in northern Finland, 12 countries called on the European Union to strengthen its presence in the Arctic region, which is home to strong geopolitical tensions, being caught between threats from Russia and the ambitions of US President Donald Trump. “Security in the Arctic must be achieved collectively,” the participants emphasised in a joint statement adopted at the conclusion of the Rovaniemi summit, which was also attended by Romanian President Nicușor Dan.
Seven months have passed since Donald Trump began issuing repeated threats to use force to acquire Greenland, a vast Danish autonomous territory, sparking a major crisis among Western allies, France Presse notes. While tensions between Europeans and Americans have since eased, European leaders have not forgotten the incident and are now seeking ways to bolster their role in the region, while remaining painfully aware of a hostile Russia across the long Finnish border. In their view, Moscow poses a significant and enduring security threat. The EU leaders meeting in Rovaniemi called on the European Union to play a strategic and more proactive role. For “what happens here is not a regional issue, but a European one”, as European Council President Antonio Costa emphasised.
From Romania’s perspective, there is a need for a coherent and unified approach to the challenges across the entire area stretching from the Arctic to the Black Sea, given that the security challenges in these regions are interconnected. President Nicușor Dan said that while Romania is not an Arctic country, it is facing the same threats as the entire eastern flank neighbouring Russia: drones, hybrid attacks and acts of sabotage. He added that given the similar threats faced, there should be similar measures of deterrence. He said that we, in the Black Sea region, already have good demining expertise aimed at protecting underwater cables and can share the knowledge with others.
There are also environmental and economic concerns. The Arctic region is warming nearly four times faster than the global average due to climate change, which has serious consequences for ecosystems and local populations. However, the melting of the ice cap also opens up new economic and strategic prospects. Russia, China, and the US have stepped up their presence in the area, primarily seeking access to the significant natural resources in the area and to develop new maritime routes. In this context, it would benefit the European Union to possess its own fleet of icebreakers or vessels capable of navigating in extremely challenging conditions. As for Romania, it possesses expertise in the minerals sector, already collaborating with the Geological Survey of Finland, and also has expertise in shipbuilding.
No official decision was reached at the summit in Finland, but the European Commission is expected in the next few weeks to unveil a new Arctic strategy, which will define the Union’s key directions for the region in the coming years.
