The European Union will allocate €200 million to infrastructure development in Greenland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced following a meeting with Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
The two sides also signed a Joint Declaration on cooperation. According to von der Leyen, the document reflects Greenland’s decision to strengthen its ties with the EU and Europe’s willingness to become more actively involved in Greenland and the wider Arctic region.
The new investment package focuses on three strategic areas: connectivity, clean energy and critical raw materials.
In particular, the EU and Greenland are implementing a project to improve satellite connectivity. High-speed internet is expected to become available soon in settlements in northern Greenland and, by October, in remote communities in the east of the island.
Part of the funding will be used to develop new hydroelectric power plants. Brussels and Nuuk are also working on a molybdenum mining project at Malmbjerg, which could generate up to €90 million in additional annual revenue for Greenland.
The EU is also financing preparatory work for GreenRoc’s graphite mining project in Amitsoq. Von der Leyen described it as another important initiative in the critical raw materials sector.
In addition, the European Commission has proposed more than doubling EU funding for Greenland through 2034, bringing the total to €530 million.
“We want our partnership to be built for the long term,” von der Leyen said.
