The EU Allocates Millions to Arctic Infrastructure

The EU is allocating over EUR 25 million to digital infrastructure projects in the Arctic.

The Nordic R&E network Nordunet has received funds for its Polar Connect project; the establishment of the initial part of the fiber network infrastructure from Sweden to Svalbard and on to Asia. The Finnish Cinia Oy has received funding for the establishment of submarine cable routes from Europe and through the Northwest Passage to Asia.

The Greenlandic company Tusass has received funds for the establishment of an inland submarine cable between southern and northern Greenland.

The funds have been allocated under the support program CEF-2 Digital, which "support and catalyze both public and private investments in digital connectivity infrastructures between 2021 and 2027."

A total of 38 projects were selected to receive EU funding to strengthen "safe, secure and sustainable high-performance infrastructure, including Gigabit and 5G network across Europe." See an overview of the selected projects here.

This was the result of the first Connecting Europe call for proposal. A second call opened in October and closes on February 20th.