Greenland: Melting Ice, Rising Stakes
Date
3 February 2026
Time
11:00-12:30
Location
Meeting room of the Egmont Institute, Rue des Petits Carmes 24A, B-1000 Brussels
Type of Event
Roundtable
Organisation
Egmont Institute
During the event “Greenland: Melting Ice, Rising Stakes”, discussions focused on how accelerating climate change is increasing the Arctic’s geo-economic and geopolitical importance. Greenland’s melting ice sheet has profound global climate implications while also making critical minerals and new shipping routes more accessible, placing the island at the centre of strategic competition among the EU, the US, Russia and China. Speakers highlighted Greenland’s vast but largely untapped mineral potential, the technical and environmental constraints on extraction, and renewed US interest in acquiring the territory. The event underscored the EU’s strengthened Arctic engagement, expanded partnership with Greenland, and firm support for Danish sovereignty and the principle that Greenland’s future must be decided by Greenlanders themselves.
(Photo credit: Canva teams)