Luxembourg, 20/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - Hailing the joint communication on the EU's integrated policy for the Arctic on Monday 20 June, which was adopted on 27 April (see EUROPE 11541 and EDD 885), the Foreign Affairs Council backed strengthening the EU's commitment in the Arctic.
In their conclusions, the EU's foreign ministers thus stated that the EU has a “strong interest” in building on and further developing its engagement in the Arctic, “noting increased global attention and activity” in the Arctic region and encouraging close cooperation between the European institutions and the member states.
“The Arctic is an area of active cooperation between major regional and global actors; reinforcing the EU's engagement in the Arctic is also important from a foreign and security policy point of view”, the ministers add. In the Council's view, the EU can make “a significant contribution” in regional and multilateral fora which deal with Arctic matters. The Council states that “the EU looks forward to the early implementation of its observer status in line with the Arctic Council's Kiruna Declaration of May 2013'. The EU is currently an ad hoc observer and would like to become a permanent observer. The EU's foreign ministers also call on High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini to discuss Arctic-related issues on a regular basis in regional and multilateral frameworks, as well as in bilateral cooperation and political dialogues with Arctic partners and other partners engaged in Arctic affairs,
It is very important to have continued close cooperation with local communities and indigenous peoples, as well as civil society organisations and business representatives, the EU's foreign ministers state. The Council also stresses the need for urgent global action to reduce and prevent the significant risks posed by climate change and environmental impacts in the Arctic region. It asks the Commission to explore ways in which the EU can contribute to the sustainable development of industry and climate-resilient infrastructure. With regard to research, the ministers ask the Commission to work “at all levels” to achieve synergies across EU funding programmes as well as between national, circumpolar and international monitoring and research programmes, and to continue efforts to improve research quality, data collection and observation capability in the Arctic through international cooperation. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)