So good afternoon.

We have just adopted our new European Arctic strategy. It was time to do that.

The Arctic is one place where the tectonic plates of geopolitics are colliding. And it's not someone else's frontier. It's part of the European Union.

Three of our member states are Arctic countries,

and more than half a million EU citizens live in the Arctic.

So for Europe, it is also our northern neighborhood, close, connected, and very critical to our future.

When we see Russia rebuilding its Arctic military footprint, pursuing hybrid strategies against the neighbors,

and reshaping the security of the Arctic, it impacts the European Union as a whole.

When we see that sovereignty, territorial integrity,

and the rules that have underpinned stability in the region can no longer be taken for granted,

we have to act. And change our strategic posture.

And together with like-minded partners, stand up to these values. But security is not the only trigger. Our strategy is also about the economy. As the Arctic becomes more accessible.

It also becomes more central to Europe's economic security.

Just think of critical raw materials essential to our green and digital transition.

Or think of emerging shipping routes that reshape global trade.

Or connectivity infrastructure that will define the region's future. These are opportunities.

Our goal is to turn them into prosperity for Arctic communities while strengthening Europe's economic resilience.

And there's another angle that is very important to us.

The Arctic belongs to the people of the Arctic.

To the families, the communities, the indigenous people,

the young people who want to build their future in the Arctic, it's their home.

And this is why we keep them at the very center of our approach.

Their home is massively affected by climate change.

The Arctic is warming nearly 4 times faster than the global average.

And as a global climate regulator, the Arctic shapes weather patterns,

biodiversity, and sea level rising worldwide. So for Europe, the consequences are direct.

Arctic warming is driving more extreme and persistent weather patterns across our continent.

And it changes our ecosystems, our agriculture, and our water systems.

And this is why our strategy maintains a strong emphasis on protecting the Arctic environment and advancing the clean transition.

Finally and importantly,

our strategy is about partnership with key Arctic allies such as Canada and our like many like-minded partners.

We want to work with them more closely. On a peaceful, stable, and resilient Arctic. On a prosperous and economically secure Arctic.

Basically on an Arctic that delivers for its people. Thank you very much.