This is the second time the application from the European Commission is turned down by the permanent members of the Arctic Council. Since the meeting in 2009, member states like Norway, Sweden, Iceland and USA have opened for more permanent observers, like China, Japan, India, Italy and EU.
Sweden, that took over the chair of Arctic Council at the ministerial meeting at Nuuk earlier in May, says in their newly presented Arctic Strategy that EU can very well obtain the status as permanent observer, but interviewed by EUobserver Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says “We have agreed on the criteria. A decision will be taken at the next ministerial meeting at the latest.”
It is well known that it is Russia and Canada that oppose opening the door to the Arctic Council for EU.
Arctic Council member (and EU member) Finland is the one most actively lobbying for including EU. Presenting the country’s Arctic strategy last year, Finland says EU’s Arctic policy is important to include. Finland is currently working to get EU’s Arctic Information office located to Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland, the city where the first initiative to establish a circumpolar council was taken back in the early 90ies.
Read also: Institutionalizing EU’s Arctic Policy
The European Commission itself has not made any official statements after the Nuuk meeting, but another EU member country, France, has posted strong reactions on the postponement of including the EU as permanent observer.
- The Arctic Council has no wish to encourage debate, said French delegate Michel Rocard in a letter quoted by EUobserver. He continued: - The unspoken assumption is that whatever happens in the Arctic, it is sufficient for each coastal state shoulder alone but totally the responsibilities… I can certainly not ad here to that view, Rocard wrote.
The question on EU observer status will be one of the moist challenging topics for Sweden to tackle while holding the chairmanship over the coming two years. Next ministerial meeting will in the Arctic Council will be in northern Sweden in spring 2013.
If Sweden doesn’t manage to find a consensus among the eight Arctic member states before that, EU’s possible permanent observer statues will be left even further in jeopardy; Canada is the one taking over the chair after Sweden.
