Russia and the Arctic must be on EUs agenda
Climate change and energy issues are high on the agenda in todays EU top meeting in Brussels. Meanwhile, a new EU report says that climate and energy might trigger conflict in the Norwegian-Russian Barents Sea
The Arctic will inevitably get higher on the EU agenda, and the union should have the challenges in the region in mind when negotiating a new partnership agreement with Russia, BarentsObserver writes in an editorial. This weeks two-day EU meeting comes as a new report from EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner warns against security implications from the rapid Arctic climate changes. Relations with Russia are central in the paper. Mr. Solana and Ms. Ferrero-Waldner describe a potential for conflict as Russia, Norway and the other Arctic states take steps to exploit the hydrocarbon resources in the area. The eleven-page paper, to be submitted to EU leaders at this weeks summit, warns of a range of stark scenarios, in particular the threat of an intensified “scramble for resources” both energy and mineral in the Arctic “as previously inaccessible regions open up”, EUobserver.com reports. In the report, the two leaders suggest that the European Union boost its civil and military capacities in order to respond to the “serious security risks” following catastrophic climate changes. Seen in the light of Solanas and Ferrero-Waldners report, it remains a paradox that a new partnership agreement with Russia remains far from agreed upon. Relations with Russia are vital for the EU in its handling of the security implications of climate change and energy supply. The new EU-Russia partnership agreement should therefore include mechanisms for the handling of such challenges in the Arctic EU non-member Norway can only hope that the two European big powers agree on how to cope with situations in the High North.
