EU increases investment in Greenland with a 200 million euro package

The European Union plans to invest 200 million euros in Greenland this year and next, focusing on connectivity, clean energy and critical raw materials. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the package in Nuuk alongside Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

The three sides also signed a joint declaration aimed at strengthening cooperation between the EU, Greenland and Denmark. The investment will expand Greenland’s satellite capacity and improve internet access. Northern settlements are expected to receive faster connections immediately, while remote settlements in the east are due to receive improved access from October.

Von der Leyen said the EU would support new hydropower plants and increased domestic energy production, arguing that the investments would strengthen Greenland’s energy security and independence. They will also support clean industries such as renewable hydrogen.

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The people who will decide Greenland’s future are the people of Greenland and Denmark, nobody else.

The critical raw materials component includes preparatory financing for the Amitsoq graphite project. Von der Leyen said the Malmbjerg molybdenum mine could become one of Greenland’s largest investments and generate up to 90 million euros in added value each year. She said resources in Greenland should create added value, jobs and growth for the territory.

The package will also cover housing, local businesses, sustainable tourism and education programs for young people. Von der Leyen said the EU had proposed raising long-term funding for Greenland to 530 million euros by 2034, more than double the current amount, and increasing Greenlandic participation in the Erasmus program.

“Those who will decide Greenland’s future are the people of Greenland and Denmark, nobody else,” von der Leyen said. She added that territorial integrity, sovereignty and the inviolability of borders were fundamental principles of international law. The EU plans to publish a new Arctic strategy in the autumn, reflecting what she described as Europe’s direct interest in developments in the region.

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We are aware that the Arctic has become one of the points where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide.