The present and future competence of the European Union in the Arctic

Abstract

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.

Scotland as an Independent Small State: Where would it seek shelter?

“…16 The current mackerel dispute between the EU (representing Scotland) and Norway on the one hand, and Iceland and the Faroe Isles on the other, is just the first example of historic fishing rights being revisited in light of new migration patterns as fish stocks respond to changing ocean temperatures and currents. Such disputes also highlight the importance of Scotland's shelter choices: if within the EU, it would have to let the EU continue negotiating for it, but if standing outside, how much clout would it have in the negotiations (Koivurova et al 2011)? Scotland will also hope for a share of any new fisheries that open up outside EEZs/EFZs, but it is not yet clear how these will be managed -by extending the reach of the two existing fisheries organisations in the North Atlantic, by a new Arctic regional fisheries management organization, or even by leaving an unregulated free-for-all.…”

How much is the fish? When foreign policy meets fishing interests in the EU’s Arctic endeavour

“…This includes, for instance, the EU's cooperative efforts with Russia in the European Arctic, and its engagement within the Arctic Council. 53 However, the region has only recently began to feature more prominently in EU foreign policy initiatives. Since 2008, EU institutions have issued ten Arctic policy documents, most recently in March 2017: three (Joint) Communications by the Commission (and the HR), three related Conclusions by the Council and four Resolutions by the EP.…”

Apportioning aerosol natural and anthropogenic sources thorough simultaneous aerosol size distributions and chemical composition in the European high Arctic

“…Special concern is arising also from increasing navigability in the rapidly melting Arctic Ocean with expanding community re-supply, fishing, tourism, fossil fuel exploitation and cargo trading, which is projected to cause a large increase in emissions by 2050 (Melia et al, 2016). Future studies looking simultaneously at different Arctic monitoring sites will reduce the uncertainties in future projections of Arctic climate changes and its implications for our planet (Koivurova et al, 2012;Byers, 2013;Conde Perez et al, 2016). Our study supports international environmental cooperation concerning the Arctic region.…”