NATO warship F311 Roald Amundsen of the Royal Norwegian Navy in a fjord off Smøla, December 1, 2016. Source: iStock.com/arild lilleboe The third Arctic Security Conference will convene at The Hub in Oslo on September 16, bringing maritime security and hybrid threats at sea to the center of a wider debate over growing strategic competition … Read more
Fishing boats out for skrei cod in the Arctic. Source: iStock.com/piola666 Kimek CEO Eirik Wikan has many blank pages in his order book. Across East Finnmark, sanctions against Russia and cuts to fishing quotas are weighing on the economy. The county mayor and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) are calling for measures to reverse … Read more
Karelian birch in a northern forest. Source: iStock.com/Renewer Karelian birch is listed today in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Karelia, and commercial logging of the species is banned. At the same time, the region promotes Karelian birch as a brand: souvenir shops sell every kind of article made from it—chess sets, jewelry … Read more
Chief of Defense Michael W. Hyldgaard visits the Arctic Shield exercise in Greenland. Source: Forsvaret More than 400 soldiers from 11 countries are training for Arctic operations during the Arctic Shield 2026 exercise. The exercise takes place on land, at sea, and in the air, particularly around the settlement of Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland, where … Read more
Source: iStock.com/gopixa Between Ukraine and Hormuz#During the last four years, Germany’s strategic stance and energy supplies were severely affected by two main events. The first one was the launch of the Special Military Operation and the consequent escalation of the Ukrainian Crisis into a wider confrontation between Russia and the so-called “Collective West.” Albeit with … Read more
Ursula von der Leyen’s recent visit to Greenland not only marked the beginning of a new phase in relations between the sparsely populated, independence-seeking Arctic island, Denmark, and the European Union—a phase enshrined in a Joint Declaration that The North Observer will analyze shortly—but also yielded a significant tangible outcome. BACKGROUND Amid the EU’s preparations … Read more
Karelian birch wood texture. Source: iStock.com/eugenesergeev From knife handles to furniture suites in imperial palaces, Karelian birch is a name familiar to anyone who collects antiques or fine furniture. The mere mention of the material stirs a particular excitement, and collectors know that when Karelian birch comes up, they should brace for a very high … Read more
In reading comprehension, Swedish ninth-graders have lost knowledge equivalent to one year of learning. Swedish 15-year-olds have never had such poor knowledge in mathematics, reading comprehension, and science, the PISA survey shows. The other Nordic countries also show historically low levels. It is mainly the knowledge of Swedish ninth-graders in mathematics and reading comprehension that … Read more
BACKGROUNDFrance’s Arctic turn traced in full: The 2026–2030 Polar Strategy: Between Strategic Projection and the Structural Limits of Arctic Power France’s growing attention to the Arctic raises a legitimate question: does Paris have a genuine and lasting interest in the region, or is it primarily responding to geopolitical changes that have made the High North … Read more
Greenland must have a basis for deciding who it wants to partner with, the EU says. On Monday, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented EU investments worth 200 million euros in Greenland. The amount corresponds to 1.5 billion Danish kroner. Brussels is now seriously reaching out to Greenland, which is … Read more
