EU to shore up Arctic ties with fresh Greenland funding

{"text":[[{"start":12.64,"text":"European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will announce €200mn in fresh funding for Greenland as she visits Nuuk this weekend, seeking stronger ties with the Arctic region after Iceland’s voters rejected closer ties with the bloc."}],[{"start":27.52,"text":"Von der Leyen is expected to announce the funding package for 2026 and 2027 during a visit to the island’s capital on Sunday, according to two European officials briefed on the trip."}],[{"start":38.4,"text":"The money would be invested in the critical raw materials industry, renewable energy, undersea cables, satellite connections and data centres, with some going to the Greenland government to improve administration, said one of the officials."}],[{"start":52.76,"text":"The €200mn comes on top of an existing €225mn allocated to Greenland from the current European shared budget for 2021 to 2027 — an amount that von der Leyen is set to double in the next allocation, which will be disbursed between 2028 and 2034."}],[{"start":71.08,"text":"Depending on negotiations over the EU’s next shared budget, that tranche is now expected to amount to €530mn."}],[{"start":78.88,"text":"Von der Leyen will also sign a declaration aimed at strengthening economic ties between the EU and the Arctic island of just 57,000 inhabitants — which is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark — as Brussels seeks to reinforce its political support for Greenland following repeated annexation threats from US President Donald Trump."}],[{"start":97.96,"text":"A spokesperson for the commission highlighted Greenland’s strategic significance for the EU — “particularly in the shifting geopolitical and environmental landscape of the Arctic”."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":107.56,"text":"The trip comes days after a referendum in which Icelanders rejected reopening EU membership negotiations. Iceland relies heavily on the US for its security, but Trump’s threats against Greenland and his unpredictable support for Nato have reopened a long-running debate over whether the country should move closer to Brussels."}],[{"start":125.48,"text":"Trump, who had already called for control of the Arctic island in his first term, threatened to annex it in his second term, refusing to rule out military force. He backed down this year after EU countries vowed to defend the territory and hit the US with retaliatory tariffs."}],[{"start":141.64,"text":"The EU is trying to position itself as a more reliable long-term partner, whose investments on the island predate Trump’s threats."}],[{"start":148.56,"text":"“We come to strengthen the ability of Arctic communities to decide for themselves, and to back those decisions with investment,” the EU’s commissioner for international partnerships Jozef Síkela said this week."}],[{"start":161.16,"text":"In a veiled reference to claims Trump has also made that he wanted to “buy” Greenland, Síkela said “the Arctic’s future belongs to the people of the Arctic. Not to whoever wants to buy it.”"}],[{"start":173.22,"text":"A new EU Arctic policy, announced later this year, will build on von der Leyen’s funding announcement, linking economic investment more closely with security and defence investments and “enhancing connectivity, supporting economic diversification and fostering resilience for local communities”, according to the spokesperson."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":192.78,"text":"But Greenlandic officials have been frustrated with the slow pace of investment from Europe and the US."}],[{"start":198.56,"text":"High costs, difficult logistics and tough operating conditions have discouraged large-scale foreign investment in Greenland’s mines. The Danish export and investment fund Eifo has been one of the most active investors, backing Amaroq, which operates one of the few operational mines in Greenland."}],[{"start":216.86,"text":"But Greenland’s hopes of gaining independence from Denmark rest on a big increase in economic activity to wean the island off its annual grant from Copenhagen, which amounted to $670mn last year — something that officials concede is unlikely in the short term, even as interest in tourism rises."}],[{"start":235.74,"text":"This summer, EU countries including France and the Netherlands have been more focused on security, sending troops and equipment to Greenland for training exercises."}],[{"start":245.6,"text":"Additional reporting by Andy Bounds in Brussels and cartography by John Nelzon Chan"}],[{"start":254.23,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788500487_1784.mp3"}