In the strategy adopted last Friday, the Finnish Government says that for Finland, as EU’s Arctic member country, it is important that the Arctic cooperation also has a strong Barents Dimension.
Finland is a key member of the regional Barents cooperation and participates in many multi-lateral Barents projects together with Russia, Norway and Sweden.
Read: Finland’s strategy for the Arctic region (pdf. in Finnish only).
The proposal for the strategy was made by a working group appointed by the office of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen earlier this year.
Read also: Finland in favor of EU expansion to the north
In the strategy the Finnish Government supports officially the EU Arctic Information Centre to be located at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland in Rovaniemi.
Read also: EU may locate Arctic info centre to Rovaniemi
The strategy defines Finland’s Arctic policy objectives and discusses ways of promoting them. Proposals for the development of the EU’s Arctic policy are also presented in the strategy.
Arctic policy issues have risen to the centre of attention in international politics in recent years because of the climate change. Finland is the seventh of the eight Member States of the Arctic Council to publish its own Arctic strategy.
The strategy provides a more comprehensive overview of the Arctic region and specifies concrete objectives for future policies in Finland. It makes proposals for action in areas such as the improvement of transport connections, promotion of exports in the Arctic, Arctic research and strengthening the role of the Arctic Council.
The Advisory Board on Arctic Affairs appointed by the Government will have a key role in further work on the strategy, the Finnish Government reports.
