EU urges action to exploit Arctic oil and gas

The European Commission adopted on the 20 November 2008 a Communication on 'The European Union and the Arctic Region', which highlighted the effects of climate change and human activities in the Arctic. Apart from setting out EU interests and policy objectives, the text proposes a systematic and coordinated response to rapidly emerging challenges. Therefore the Communication is the first step towards an EU Arctic Policy and an important contribution to implementing the Integrated Maritime Policy for the EU.

European Commission: Press Release, IP/08/1750: The Arctic merits the European Union's attention – first step towards an EU Arctic Policy http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1750&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries: Maritime Policy actions: The EU and the Arctic region http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/arctic_overview_en.html

ESO: Background information: Russia’s Arctic ambitions challenged http://www.europeansources.info/record/russias-arctic-ambitions-challenged/

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