Finland wants stronger role in Arctic region

Stubb sees security policy implications in climate change

Alexander Stubb

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Finland wants to strengthen the role of the Arctic Council in order to prevent rivalry and the formation of “cliques” in the northern region. At the same time, Finland is securing a role for itself in the area, whose importance is growing as climate change causes the northern ice cap to shrink.
      “The economic impact of climate change on the Arctic region also has security policy implications”, said Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party) on Tuesday. Stubb was in the Norwegian city of Tromsø, which is hosting a meeting of the Arctic Council today, Wednesday.
      On Tuesday, former US Vice President Al Gore briefed participants on the melting of Arctic ice.
     
Foreign Minister Stubb feels that the Arctic Council, which is currently a fairly weak entity, should be strengthened. The members of the council include all countries having coastline on the Arctic Ocean, as well as Finland and Sweden, which do not.
      In addition to the Nordic Countries, members of the council include Canada, Russia, and the United States. Also represented in the council, which focuses on development and environment issues in the Arctic region, are the indigenous peoples of the area.
     
The host of the meeting, Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, emphasised in an interview with Reuters that there are vast possibilities for the utilisation of energy resources in the northern Arctic Ocean as the climate warms - even if the environmental implications are negative.
      Stubb feels that the changes make it important to invest more in the area, and for Finland to be at the table where decisions are made.
      “At some stage, budgetary questions will also emerge”, he said. However, Finland does not have any individual new Arctic projects in mind.
      At the meeting, Stubb plans to emphasise Finnish expertise in fields including the design of icebreakers and in Arctic research.
     
Finland also has no clear answers to proposals for any new type of Arctic cooperation among the Nordic Countries, as proposed by Norway’s former Foreign Minister Thorvald Stoltenberg in February. As Stubb sees it, Stoltenberg’s proposals “are not separate” from the growth in importance of the Arctic regions.


See also:
  Defence Minister: Nordic cooperation might save defence costs (11.2.2009)

Links:
  Arctic Council

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