European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Greenland on Sunday to launch a new satellite connectivity project with the self-owned telecom company Tusass.
The visit was reported by DR, which notes that von der Leyen travels to Greenland with funding and a partnership agreement she hopes Greenland will sign. Talks focus in part on telecommunications and digital infrastructure.
According to the EU office in Greenland, von der Leyen will launch the improved satellite connection project together with Greenlandic government leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The European Commission states that the visit runs on September 6 and 7 in Nuuk.
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The Commission adds that the EU, Greenland and Denmark are also set to sign a renewed joint declaration on their relationship. Per the same statement, the trip is intended to advance relations and respond to the Arctic’s growing strategic importance.
Reuters reported on September 4 that von der Leyen was expected to announce roughly 200 million euros in new funding for Greenland during the trip. Citing the Financial Times, Reuters said the money would cover 2026 and 2027. Reuters and AFP have noted that the trip was announced on August 27 and centers on Arctic security and cooperation.
Arctic conditions at Tusass
Tusass director Jonas Hasselriis told DR that communication in the Arctic works differently than almost anywhere else. He described a protected satellite dish housed inside a large sphere on a Greenlandic mountainside, connecting towns and settlements.
The equipment operates in temperatures below minus 30 to 40 degrees Celsius and in extreme winds on mountain tops, according to Hasselriis. He said Tusass has noticed the EU’s interest over the past year or two, and that the company has been invited to Europe for talks about solutions developed in Greenland.
Shift in focus
DR reports that EU cooperation with Greenland previously centered on fisheries, education and the green transition. This year, infrastructure, telecommunications and digital technologies have moved onto the agenda.
In January, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Sikela wrote that digital connection in the Arctic equals security, and also forms a foundation for education and knowledge. At the same time, the Commission expressed support for both Greenland and Denmark and proposed doubling the EU budget line for Greenland.
Rasmus Leander Nielsen, head of the foreign policy research center at the University of Greenland, told DR the timing is hardly coincidental. He said the explanation can almost be given as a surname, Trump, pointing to the changed geopolitical context. He added that Greenlandic politicians now speak more warmly about the EU, after a foreign strategy some years ago that emphasized the United States.
Nielsen also noted that interest in EU cooperation extends into large parts of Greenlandic business. Tusass is among the companies involved in that dialogue.
