Nuuk - Greenland

Recently I've travelled to Greenland to represent the European Union at the Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council. One day (three flights) to get there, another day (once again three flights) to come back to Oslo. Light snowfall and freezing temperatures in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. I learn to appreciate more the warm or even the cool and rainy Norwegian spring.

I wonder if Nuuk has ever seen so many foreign leaders being there at the same time, including Hillary Clinton, Serguey Lavrov and Jonas Gahr Støre. Times are changing and the Arctic even more.

As I've pointed out also in Nuuk, the European Union is a major contributor to protecting the environment in the Arctic region. It is also one of the strongest forces promoting global efforts combating climate change, so important for the future of the Arctic. Some years ago, the EU applied for observer status in the Arctic Council to contribute to Arctic cooperation in a more structured manner.

Ministers of the eight members of the Council could not agree on admitting observers this time either, although in Nuuk they adopted a respective procedure and agreed to a timeline. This is part of a package to upgrade and strengthen the Arctic Council. The EU will study now in detail the implications of the Nuuk decisions to form its own judgment and outline the way forward.

It has been agreed in Nuuk that the new Arctic Council Permanent Secretariat will be located in Tromsø. I have already had the possibility to congratulate Norway on this. The decision might have implications also for the EU Delegation in Norway, which might become the contact point for doing business with the Arctic Council.