Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday this week went to Brussels together with six of his cabinet ministers. Meetings were held with all the major EU institutions. The visit comes just a week before the Union is expected to presents a new policy document on the Arctic.
In the meeting with Mr. Barroso, the commission president underlined that he supports the Norwegian stance that a new international Arctic treaty is not needed, EUobserver.com reports.
Norway has long argued that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is a sufficient tool for the regulation of the Arctic.
The support from the EU Commission comes as a relief for Norway, which has been disturbed by the European Parliament’s recent resolution to push for international negotiations on an international treaty for the protection of the Arctic.
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