On Thursday, 3 October, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde pushed for the EU’s Arctic strategy to be updated.
“The EU plan needs to be updated, and I really hope that the next Commission will show an interest in issues concerning the Arctic”, she explained during the first EU Arctic Forum in Sweden.
“What we have is not enough. So much has happened in recent years”, she insisted, calling for a broader strategy and more action.
“What the EU is doing is appreciated, but there is a strong call for us to be even more committed”, said EU Ambassador at Large for the Arctic Marie-Anne Coninsx. While reiterating that the EU’s 2016 Arctic Strategy (see EUROPE 11541/1) was “solid and comprehensive”, Ms Coninsx explained that the changes had been rapid and that this necessitated a suitable policy. “We need to update the geo-economic and geopolitical implications of Arctic warming”, she explained.
The Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU has made the Arctic one of its priorities (see EUROPE 12294/16), and Croatia, which will succeed it, is expected to maintain this stance.
Furthermore, High Representative of the Union Federica Mogherini, Ms Linde, and Commissioner Karmenu Vella reiterated in a joint statement that the EU was “strongly committed to helping the region adapt to climate change, protecting the environment, and developing its economy in a sustainable way”. “We are delivering on this commitment in three practical ways: by investing in research and development, by protecting local ecosystems and biodiversity, and, where appropriate, by building better infrastructure to connect the region to the mainland, including broadband connection,” they explained. In their opinion, the EU has a “strategic role and interest in the Arctic remaining a ‘low-tension–high cooperation’ area”.
See the statement: http://bit.ly/2pAgQMj (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)