These policies are meant to encompass a wide range of areas as well as meet the increased geopolitical and economic relevance of the region.
As a geopolitical and economic force, the EU reclassifies the region's strategic importance, as well as the need of having a coordinated arctic policy for the entire European Union.
To remain relevant in new political, security, and economic domains, the EU must follow the rising interest from other parties in the area.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has increased the scope of its sanctions to unprecedented levels, possibly making it harder for the EU to be accepted into the Arctic Council as an observer state.
The Northern Dimension of European Union policy, which was founded in the late 1990s, was created to address concerns relating to western Russia as well as to improve overall collaboration between the EU, Iceland, and Norway.
[11] Although power competition has intensified over the last years within the Arctic region (e.g., the unified suspension of cooperation following Russian aggression directed at Ukraine (in 2014 and 2022), the Post-Cold War Arctic region has been relatively stable in terms of geopolitical struggles and has even constituted an enclave where Western states have been able to cooperate more freely with Russia than what has been the case within other domains.
The European Union is dedicated to fostering effective Arctic cooperation and aiding with the region's current issues.
The two-part document provides a set of building blocks for the EU's increased involvement in the Arctic, as well as an overview of developments and policy actions achieved since the European Commission's initial message in 2008.
The EU's strategy for achieving its goal of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is in other words strongly reflected in its updated arctic policy of 2021 as well.
The EU is dedicated to maintaining a secure, stable, sustainable, and prosperous Arctic, which must remain a low-tension zone characterised by peaceful multilateral cooperation.
[24] Another challenge for the European Union is internal cohesion concerning the Arctic, balancing sustainability goals and environmental preservation on the one hand and the possibilities for the extraction of natural recourses on the other.
These topics include combating climate change, developing alternative energy resources, and strengthening bilateral connections with Arctic littoral states and indigenous peoples.
As a result, the EU has a chance to strengthen and legitimise its presence in the Arctic by establishing a cooperative Search and Rescue (SAR) regime backed by its Galileo and Sentinel satellites programmes.
Since the EU Arctic strategy of 2021 is closely linked to the European "green deal" this office will mainly work on implementing this policy.
This can be challenging for the EU since Russia has invested large recourses in the development of infrastructure to facilitate oil and gas exploitation in the Arctic.
These academics conclude that this is due to the region's remoteness, the climate itself and the challenges tied to patrolling and surveillance that all promotes cooperation rather than conflict.