The European Union in the Arctic

ended

The European Union in the Arctic (EURARCTIKA) research project’s objective is to investigate which legal and geopolitical instruments the EU could use in order to contribute to the protection of the Arctic environment. The timeliness of this issue is due to the fact that the Arctic is warming at a rate of almost twice the global average, which is making energy resources and transportation routes much more accessible while jeopardizing the environment at the same time. The EU is an important actor in the Arctic where it has geopolitical and economic interests. Additionally, the EU has a distinct negative impact on the Arctic environment with its greenhouse gases and black carbon emissions. For this reason, the EU should take responsibility for its impact on the Arctic and play a role in the protection of its environment. EURARCTIKA combines two branches of international studies (law and international relations). These latter analyse the same phenomenon from different perspectives that are however complementary offering a complete analysis of the object of study. EURARCTIKA will first analyse the main features of the Arctic legal regime for environmental protection and will identify its main strengths and weaknesses in order to evaluate its effectiveness. It will subsequently focus on the geopolitical and economic interests of the EU and of states in the region and the implications at the international level. Finally, the project will investigate the measures, the instruments, and the strategies that the EU can use to contribute to develop an effective environmental regime in the region in order to protect the Arctic environment. Through an extensive dissimination of the research results (open-access publications, a high-level conference, workshops participation and presentations), this research project will allow experts, academics and stakeholders to understand how the EU can contribute to the protection of the Arctic environment.