The future of the Arctic, increasingly central geopolitically, economically and militarily

But Italy is also present in force with its companies, as Fincantieri and its Norwegian subsidiary VARD - which in turn has six subsidiaries in Norway - have consolidated their position with the production of specialised units for operations in polar waters; that in the aerospace industry, Leonardo, through e-GEOS and Telespazio, has strengthened its commitment in the Arctic region thanks to the COSMO-SkyMed satellite programme and the ARCSAR project, aimed at improving safety and environmental surveillance in polar routes; and that the energy sector remains one of the key pillars of Italian investments in the region: ENI, through its subsidiary Vår Energi, has developed infrastructure for the extraction of hydrocarbons in the Norwegian Arctic, adopting advanced technologies to reduce environmental impact.

All this, however, takes place in a context that becomes more rippling with military tensions year by year: 'The main issue concerning defence and security in the Arctic is of course the relationship between the NATO countries and Russia,' says Andreas Østaghen, Associate Professor of International Relations at the High North Centre of the University of Bodø, Norway, and Senior Researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, one of Norway's leading think-tanks.

"The main concern is about control over the nuclear facilities that Russia has established in the area. Russia did not establish them there because of economic issues, or issues related to sea routes or climate change; those facilities are there because the strategic projection on the Arctic puts Russia face to face with North America and provides it with access to the oceans, particularly in the North Atlantic. So, what we are witnessing today, after 2022 and the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, is that the NATO countries' focus on Russia is also on the Arctic, because for example we, Norway, but also the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and even Italy want to have the ability to control any Russian nuclear threats coming from the Arctic. Basically, the European Arctic theatre is becoming more and more strategic for controlling possible Russian threats, and this is very similar to what we saw during the Cold War, albeit with different actors and technological means'.

The new main player, of course, is China, which is investing in the Russian Arctic in ships, bases and posts that might be there for economic purposes, but which in the long term might serve to establish a fixed Chinese presence in the so-called North-South Route, i.e. the route from Asia to Europe.

Donald Trump's continued pressure on Greenland - which is formally part of Denmark, but is undergoing independence impulses - adds fuel to the ice: 'On the Arctic front, the US already controls Alaska,' says Professor Andreas Raspotnik, director of the High North Center, 'and every time Chinese military ships ply the waters of Alaska, this situation generates great concern in Washington. But what would happen if China and Russia also increased these efforts in the Atlantic Arctic, and thus close to Greenland? This is the decisive security implication for the US, which ultimately affects US Arctic policy and US-China relations'.

The three days of Arctic Connections ultimately revealed not only the centrality of the Arctic in the economic, environmental and military developments of the future, but also the urgent need for a European policy.

To avoid being cut off from one of the key routes of the near future.