The European Union has agreed to invest 200 million euros in Greenland over the next two years, part of a broader partnership that Danish and Greenlandic leaders set out in Nuuk on Monday. The commitment adds to a doubling of direct EU support for the territory that had already been approved.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the plan alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic government leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The three signed a joint declaration describing the areas they intend to develop together.
The package concentrates on three priorities. The first is connectivity, including expanded satellite capacity to improve internet access across the northern and eastern regions. The second is clean energy. The third is the extraction of critical raw materials, a sector drawing growing global attention.
Von der Leyen tied the agreement to the principle that decisions about the island rest with the people who live there. “Greenland’s future is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide,” she said.
A dedicated strand of the plan sets aside funding for satellite based internet in remote communities, where stable connections have long been difficult to sustain. Officials described the effort under a banner they called Connecting Greenland, Together.
For Copenhagen, the deal deepens an economic relationship at a moment of heightened interest in the Arctic and its resources. The parties said work on the first projects would begin in the coming months.
