Two years after her first visit, President von der Leyen visited Nuuk, reaffirming the EU's commitment to be present in Greenland. The President was hosted by Jens-Frederik Nielse, Premier of Greenland, and Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark. The three leaders signed a Joint Declaration deepening cooperation across the board. Additionally, President von der Leyen announced a Global Gateway Partnership Package of €200 million to be invested this year and the next one.
During a joint press conference, President von der Leyen elaborated on the importance of the visit and of the new Joint Declaration: "It reflects a clear choice expressed by Greenland to strengthen the ties with the European Union, in line with your values, your freedom and your interests. But let me tell you, it also shows a very strong interest of Europe to have made a choice too, the choice to be more present and to be more engaged in Greenland and in the Arctic." The Declaration strengthens collaboration on many fronts: opportunities for young people, better connectivity, strengthened civil protection, and actions to fight against climate change.
Then, President von der Leyen referred to the €200 million Global Gateway Partnership Package, which focuses on three strategic priorities: connectivity, clean energy and critical raw materials.
Looking at connectivity, the President of the Commission said, "Greenland needs, like everybody, reliable connections with the country, with the European Union and towards the world." The President highlighted the signature of a new project boosting satellite capacities, which delivers concrete results already. Indeed, as the President underlined: "And what I really like about this project is that the result will be felt as of tomorrow, by communities in the Northern part of Greenland that will have better access and faster access as of tomorrow to the Internet. And by October, remote communities in East Greenland also will have better and faster access to the Internet, thanks to this project we just inaugurated today."
On clean energy, President von der Leyen emphasised the potential of the territory. The Partnership Package supports new hydropower plants in Greenland with the goal of strengthening energy security and independence with a homegrown energy supply.
Similarly, on critical raw materials, President von der Leyen underlined the great resources Greenland has; however, she insisted those should benefit Greenland. She said: "We agreed that they should be used to create value, jobs and growth here in the country." Work is currently ongoing on two big projects: the Malmbjerg Molybdenum mining project, Greenland's largest venture, which could generate up to €90 million a year, and the GreenRoc's Amitsoq graphite project.
Following up on those concrete examples, the President insisted that this was "just the beginning". She detailed: "We also discussed that, in our next budget, we have proposed to move to more than double EU funding for Greenland until 2034, to €530 million in the next budget. We want our partnership to be built for the long term, and this symbolises also this focus on the next budget to be a reliable partner."
President von der Leyen also underlined the importance of people; she made a point to include quality of life and housing, as well as support to local businesses and sustainable tourism in the discussion. Mostly, the President insisted on youth and Erasmus+. The President laid out: "So young Greenlanders have the opportunity to travel, to study, to develop skills, come back here and build a bright future with the expertise they won over time in Erasmus+. This is why we want to step up Greenland's participation in Erasmus+ and raise awareness among young Greenlanders that this opportunity exists for them."
Last but not least, President von der Leyen reaffirmed the EU's solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. She declared: "And we want to be very clear and repeat again here that Greenland's future is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide, no one else. Territorial integrity, sovereignty, the inviolability of borders – these are fundamental principles of international law." Acknowledging the geostrategic position of the overall region of the Arctic, the President also shared that the new EU Arctic Strategy would be presented this autumn.
The President of the Commission concluded her intervention by insisting on the EU-Greenland relationship. She stated: "Greenland is much more than a partner for Europe. You are a trusted friend, you are a strategic ally and a member of our wider European family. We share a future together, and it all starts today."
During the visit, President von der Leyen also met Beinir Johannesen, the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands, to discuss how to broaden a relation that is already strong and diverse and how to continue working for safety and prosperity in the Arctic.
