Good afternoon and welcome to the European Parliament's press room.

Today is Tuesday, 20th of October, and we are here with the Vice President,

High Representative Kallas and Commissioner Síkela for today's college readout. The floor is yours. Thank you, good afternoon, everyone.

So as appropriate for the Arctic strategy, my voice is gone due to cold, so I hope you are with me.

But, today, the college adopted a joint communication entitled the European.

Northern Neighbourhood, a new strategy for the Arctic, and of course we will go into details with Commissioner Síkela just in a few moments,

but we also adopted a communication entitled Vision 2040 for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

which Executive Vice President Fitto and Commissioner Kadis will present to you shortly after this press conference.

That's the readout of the college meeting so we can now go to the main topic of today,

which is the EU's updated Arctic strategy.

The Arctic plays an important role in terms of trade, communications, and defense.

Since our previous Arctic strategy in 2021, we face a much harsher security environment. The Arctic is no longer.

Insulated from the world's geopolitical tensions,

our updated Arctic strategy reflects this new reality by putting security firmly at its core.

The list of challenges is long, but few stand out.

Russia is expanding its military footprint in the high north.

Moscow has reopened Soviet er bases and is testing new weapons in the region.

Drone incursions, GPS jamming and the sabotage of undersea cables undermine Arctic security.

The increased traffic of Russia's shadow fleet puts shipping and the environment at risk.

China's strategic ambitions in the high north are also growing.

Beijing's investments in ports, minerals and critical infrastructure need careful scrutiny.

The bottom line is that the Arctic has become the front line of global power competition.

All this comes because the Arctic is warming 3 to 4 times faster than the global average.

Retreating ice is opening access to resources and shipping routes and heating up competition over who controls them. The Arctic is Europe's northern neighborhood.

It is close, connected and critical to our future.

Three EU Member States Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Arctic nations.

More than half a million EU citizens live there. All this makes Arctic security European security.

To defend our interests, we plan to step up investments in surveillance,

infrastructure, military mobility and capabilities.

We will work closely with Member States and partners while fully respecting their sovereignty. Let me give some concrete examples.

The EU will strengthen surveillance and satellite monitoring by extending the EU satellite systems Copernicus and Galileo to better detect Arctic threats.

An Arctic cable hub can allow us to better monitor and protect and repair critical undersea infrastructure.

This could be a first step towards a broader maritime security hub to track suspicious vessels, illegal fishing and pollution.

We will explore joint procurement and pooling to expand Europe's icebreaker capacity,

because in the Arctic icebreakers are the measure of power.

We also intend to improve military mobility through Arctic ports,

airports and transport corridors so forces and equipment can get where they are needed faster.

Through the European Defence Fund, we are investing €260 million in new technologies,

including aircraft that can withstand severe environments,

textiles for extreme weather and over the horizon sensors.

The Arctic is under NATO's watch,

and all of these efforts are complementary to the alliance's role in the collective defense.

Our second priority is building even closer ties within our northern neighborhood.

Europe is strongest when it works with its partners for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Arctic,

closer cooperation with Norway, Iceland, Canada and the United Kingdom and the United States.

Other like minded partners, in full respect of their sovereignty is essential to achieving this.

We had a good European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi in September.

It could serve as a model for regular high level joint summits with our Member States and partners to discuss shared challenges and how to address them together.

In Greenland, we are investing €200 million in renewable energy,

raw materials, as well as connectivity, housing and infrastructure.

We are also planning a secure submarine cable linking Greenland to Europe.

Third, economic security and sustainable development, the Arctic's critical raw materials,

clean energy, and emerging trade routes matter for European.

Competitiveness, we will strengthen our supply chains with trusted partners, invest in renewable energy and improve transport and digital connectivity,

and this includes speeding up the implementation of the Rail Nordic project and advancing the long term ambition to build a pan Arctic data cable.

Commissioner Síkela can speak more about the economic aspects in a moment. And fourth, protecting the Arctic's environment. And its people.

Economic opportunity must not come at the expense of the environment and of the people who live there.

Our investments must be sustainable, respect indigenous peoples' rights,

and deliver real benefits for Arctic communities.

Europe has interests to defend, partners to work with, and responsibilities to meet.

Europe will not be a bystander in the Arctic. Commissioner Síkela, over to you.