EU Participation In Arctic Governance: Motivations And Policy Evolutio

In recent years,with the prominence of the geostrategic and economic value of the Arctic region,countries around the world have increased their attention and investment in the Arctic region.As the backbone of global climate and maritime governance,the EU attaches great importance to the changing situation in the Arctic region.From the end of the Cold War to the present,the EU’s involvement in the Arctic region has been increasing.From an initial "bystander" to a "participant",a "facilitator" and then to a "leader",the EU’s Arctic policy and practice have kept pace with the times and been constantly updated.Marked by the issuance of four relevant documents,the evolution of the EU Arctic policy has generally experienced three basic stages: the embryonic period(1995-2008),the development period(2008-2021),and the "hardening" trend since 2021.The evolution process shows the strategic ambition and principled objectives of the EU’s participation in Arctic governance.After a long period of exploration and revision,the EU’s Arctic policy has been gradually improved,and a systematic and long-term Arctic policy system has been formed.With the support of its Arctic policy,the EU plays an important role in the current Arctic governance system,contributing to the protection of indigenous people,ecological governance of the Arctic,climate monitoring and governance of the Arctic shipping routes.Although the Arctic council does not yet recognize the EU’s legitimate political role in the region,it is obliged to recognize the EU’s contribution to Arctic affairs.At the same time,it must be noted that the EU Arctic policy also faces multiple challenges such as internal strategic coordination,legal disputes and competition from external actors.While the EU is coordinating its Arctic policy with near-Arctic countries such as Finland,Sweden,Germany and the Netherlands internally,it is also playing a strategic game with Russia and Canada externally.After the escalation of Ukraine crisis in 2022,the international cooperation between the West and Russia in the Arctic region,including the European Union,basically came to a standstill.The latest Arctic policy of the European Union shows the trend of gradually strengthening competition with Russia.