EU Plans Arctic Surveillance Programme for 2027

Dragon Media Newsroom

The European Union is preparing to launch a surveillance programme in the Arctic in 2027. According to Bloomberg, a draft of the EU’s new Arctic strategy, expected to be released next week, proposes the programme to improve regional ties and counter the growing ambitions of the United States and Russia.

The proposed programme is expected to use the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation and Galileo satellite systems to detect potential risks across Arctic land and sea. The strategy has not yet been released, so details about the programme’s scope and implementation remain unconfirmed. The European Commission is reviewing its Arctic policy, with the revised policy expected to be published in October.

Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of European Issues and Russia’s senior official on the Arctic Council, has accused the EU of continuing to politicise cooperation in the High North. He said the Union and its member states were pursuing a path that would heighten tensions in the Arctic. This is Maslennikov’s assessment; the strategy’s provisions and stated objectives will become clearer once the EU publishes it.

As geopolitical interest in the Arctic grows, 12 EU member states have called for the Union to take a more strategic and active role in the region. They said the EU should commit additional resources to promote stability, sustainable development and prosperity while protecting its interests.