Von der Leyen and Frederiksen’s swift Nordic tour

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen are visiting the Faroe Islands and Greenland to sign agreements on education and green growth. In Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, they will also open a new EU office to strengthen EU-Greenland connections. Their visit underlines a shift in the EU’s focus from fisheries and education to critical areas like raw materials, climate change, and geopolitical influence in the Arctic, where superpowers vie for control. The EU and Greenland’s strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials for the green transition, established in November 2023, reflects this growing interest. Melting Arctic ice is raising geopolitical stakes, as it opens new shipping lanes and resource opportunities.