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Among the proposals in the strategy is a pan-Arctic cable connecting Europe to Japan and South Korea through Greenland and Canada.
The strategy said feasibility studies are underway, and pointed to Canada’s interest in more secure broadband connections between Europe and Asia, but gave no proposed timetable for the full route.
Marc Lanteigne, a Canadian political scientist at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, said the strategy’s focus on connectivity is significant.
“The idea of the cable is very interesting because it identifies an area of security that hasn’t really been a priority and is more along the lines of making sure there’s a possibility of better information flow, better communications and potentially even better transportation,” he said.
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Another notable aspect of the strategy is how the United States is discussed compared to other Arctic and northern nations, Lanteigne said.
“You definitely get the tone that there’s more distance between European and American approaches to the Arctic,” he said.
“When the U.S. is brought up, it’s more in reference to mutual security concerns, rather than anything related to research or climate change. So there’s definitely a focus on bringing in other non-EU Arctic partners, including Canada, in addition to countries like the U.K., Norway and Iceland.”
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The 21st EU-Canada Summit will take place in Montreal Oct. 29-30.
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