Debate: The Arctic: opportunities, concerns and security challenges
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Anna Fotyga
Country: Denmark
Language: EN

Allow me to start with acknowledgements. I would like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs for their excellent work, and also the advisory staff of all political groups for their long and very comprehensive work on this report. I would like to also especially thank my own staff. Last, but absolutely not least, my predecessor, the former rapporteur of the European Parliament on the Arctic, Urmas Paet, for the excellent cooperation. Quite recently – actually one week ago – we were able to complete the first physical AFET mission to the region after COVID—19. It was extremely interesting, adding to our already quite comprehensive knowledge, after which I decided to table one amendment comprising expertise that was provided to us, during this mission by scientists, located in Nuuk, in the centre of Greenland. We were there discussing with them and assessing also other topics, the scientific environment and also knowledge—based findings about Arctic. Allow me to start with presenting the obvious statement that we want to preserve the Arctic as an area of considerable low tension and of fruitful cooperation of the international community. In the chapters of this report we start by points referring to this – the importance of international cooperation as the bedrock for the development, prosperity and keeping of peaceful cooperation. We here indicate the fundamental role of the Arctic Council and the responsibility of those states, although we end our report with a very special chapter named in a somehow slightly journalistic or marketing manner: ‘more EU in the Arctic and more Arctic in the EU’. Certainly, by this debate, we are providing for the last part of this sentence. We want, after a considerably short time, to update the European Parliament’s position on the Arctic, precisely because of our concerns in many areas. The big role we indicate in the report for climate change, we think that an ambitious response to this and keeping the protection of environment, as well as all other pillars of fundamental EU policy vis—à—vis the Arctic, is extremely important. We acknowledge that what is happening to the Arctic, the very visible effects of climate change there have been predominantly created elsewhere, outside of the region, and therefore there is a need for the international community to look into concerns and also our findings concerning the Arctic. We put very high in our deliberations the role of sustainable development, of the responsible use of the riches of the Arctic, also to the benefit of local communities, in particular indigenous people, in accordance with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and on our own documents adopted by the EU. We put very high on the agenda changes in the security situation of the Arctic, in particular the military build—up and military pressure of the Russian Federation – there is a special part dedicated to this – but also the increasing role of China. Because of the melting of the ice cap, there is more possibility for navigation and keeping freedom of navigation is extremely important in our deliberation. I look forward to the debate and I will speak once more towards the end.