EU Commission Developing Initiative for Arctic Security, Says von der Leyen

EU's Commitment to Arctic Security

DAVOS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the bloc's executive arm is working on a package to support Arctic security and warned that tariffs proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland are a mistake.

Trade Relations and Tariffs

"Arctic security can only be achieved together, and this is why the proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between long-standing allies," von der Leyen said in a speech at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

Investment in Greenland

"The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July, and in politics as in business – a deal is a deal," she said.

Collaboration with the US

"Plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape, so our response will be unflinching, united and proportional."

Trump has intensified his push to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark, prompting the European Union to weigh hitting back with its own measures.

Von der Leyen said the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland is non-negotiable and that work is underway to boost security in the high north.

"We are working on a package to support Arctic security," she said.  

The EU is also working on a "massive European investment surge in Greenland", she said, to support the local economy and infrastructure.

The Commission president also said the EU will work with the US and other partners on wider Arctic security, adding that the planned surge in defense spending could be used on a "European icebreaker capability and other equipment vital to the Arctic security."

(Reporting by Lili Bayer, editing by Inti Landauro)