The article deals with the contradictions between the EU strategic autonomy and the national interests of Denmark and Norway in the Arctic regarding foreign policy priorities, defence cooperation and the "green transition". In national diplomacy Nordic countries want to preserve their own voice and freedom of manoeuvre, also in their relations with Russia and China, while the EU is more interested in keeping and expanding its own Arctic cooperation formats rather than coordinating common diplomatic efforts in the Arctic with Copenhagen or Oslo. European defence cooperation currently does not offer meaningful tools to enhance the Arctic presence of Denmark and Norway, since their largest military modernisation projects are implemented either at the national level or intergovernmentally with select countries. Finally, in the area of climate policy, a long search for compromise is likely to be necessary, as Norway is hesitant to implement EU climate regulations and is in direct opposition to Brussels over deep-sea mining, while Denmark struggles with a powerful farmer lobby that seeks postponements and exemptions from various climate measures.