The European Union's (EU's) intention of becoming a permanent observer in the Arctic Council and the reluctance of Arctic actors to grant it that status have made the union's aspirations in the Arctic the subject of a continuing debate. The discussion appears to be dominated by geographical considerations and the EU's gradually emerging Arctic policy. This article puts forward a different view of the EU's presence in the region, one drawing on an analysis of relevant EU competences. As a complex international actor, the EU has acquired a broad array of decision-making powers from its member states, powers that partly extend to Iceland and Norway via the EEA Agreement. Moreover, the EU has in many cases become a relevant actor in international negotiations and treaty making processes the outcomes of which are of crucial importance for the governance of the Arctic. Our argument in the third and concluding section is that only by including the EU in Arctic governance can the international community provide better prospects for the union to sensitise its policies and discourses to the Arctic realities and for other Arctic actors to understand how the union functions. This argument is supported by an analysis of the EU's restrictions on the import of seal products and the ensuing litigation.

The 1998 Aarhus Convention constitutes a landmark international agreement to promote public participation, not only domestically, but also at the international level. In 2005, its parties adopted specific guidelines on the promotion of its principles in international forums and established institutional arrangements to promote the implementation of this instrument. This article provides an assessment of the work undertaken under the Aarhus Convention in the past 10 years in this respect, discussing the roles played by three main categories of actors: civil society organizations, national governments and international bureaucracies. The review of the promotion of the Aarhus principles in the international climate regime supports this analysis. This case study highlights that stakeholders and the secretariats established under the Aarhus Convention and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have played primarily a cognitive role as they worked to increase awareness of the parties on participation issues in the climate regime. To implement the Aarhus Convention in the context of the climate negotiations, the parties tend to favour domestic solutions (such as the inclusion of civil society representatives in governmental delegations) rather than reflect the Aarhus principles in their negotiating positions.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract