{"id":55292,"date":"2026-03-13T12:49:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T09:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/?p=55292"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T09:49:26","slug":"apo-to-nououk-sto-reikiavik-o-geopolitikos-antagonismos-ston-ypato-vorra-kai-oi-synepeies-gia-tin-ee-kai-tin-politiki-dievrynsis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/from-nuuk-to-reykjavik-the-high-norths-geopolitical-scramble-and-the-consequences-for-the-eu-and-its-enlargement-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"From Nuuk to Reykjavik: The High North\u2019s geopolitical scramble and the consequences for the EU and its enlargement policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"the-content\"><p>The policy brief by <strong>Ioannis Alexandris<\/strong>\u00a0(<em>Research Fellow, Wider Europe Programme \u2013 ELIAMEP &amp; Researcher, think nea \u2013 New Narratives of EU Integration<\/em>) and <strong>Dimitra Koutouzi<\/strong> (<em>Defence Policy Analyst)<\/em>,\u00a0<em>\u201c<strong>From Nuuk to Reykjavik: The High North\u2019s geopolitical scramble and the consequences for the EU and its enlargement policy<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>, was prepared in the framework\u00a0ELIAMEP\u2019s initiative\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/projects\/think-nea-new-narratives-of-eu-integration\/\"><strong>think nea \u2013 New Narratives of EU Integration<\/strong><\/a>, supported by the\u00a0Open Society Foundations \u2013 Western Balkans.<\/p>\n<p>This policy brief explores how the rapidly evolving geopolitical dynamics in the Arctic are intersecting with the European Union\u2019s enlargement policy. Heightened strategic competition in the High North\u2014combined with uncertainty surrounding the transatlantic security architecture\u2014has reopened debates in Iceland about reviving its EU accession process. Against this backdrop, the brief examines how a potential Iceland track could reshape the EU\u2019s broader enlargement agenda.<\/p>\n<p>While Iceland represents a relatively \u201clow-friction\u201d candidate due to its deep regulatory alignment with the EU, its potential return to accession negotiations raises important questions about the coherence and credibility of the Union\u2019s enlargement strategy. Progress with an advanced Nordic partner could generate political momentum for enlargement but may also risk overshadowing more politically complex accession processes in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. Countries that have waited over a decade in the accession queue may perceive accelerated progress for Iceland as evidence of a differentiated enlargement logic driven by geopolitical urgency rather than merit-based conditionality.<\/p>\n<p>The brief therefore situates Iceland within the EU\u2019s evolving enlargement landscape, highlighting how geopolitical considerations\u2014including Arctic security, strategic autonomy, and shifting transatlantic relations\u2014are increasingly shaping accession debates. Ultimately, it argues that the Union must balance strategic opportunities in the North Atlantic with the need to maintain credibility and fairness toward existing candidates, particularly in the Western Balkans.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You can read the policy brief <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ICELAND-POLICY-BRIEF.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The policy brief by Ioannis Alexandris\u00a0(Research Fellow, Wider Europe Programme \u2013 ELIAMEP &amp; Researcher, think nea \u2013 New Narratives of EU Integration) and Dimitra Koutouzi (Defence Policy Analyst),\u00a0\u201cFrom Nuuk to Reykjavik: The High North\u2019s geopolitical scramble and the consequences for the EU and its enlargement policy\u201d, was prepared in the framework\u00a0ELIAMEP\u2019s initiative\u00a0think nea \u2013 New [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":55294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[492],"tags":[],"program":[23],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55292"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55292"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55295,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55292\/revisions\/55295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55292"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=55292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}