On 13 April, the Committee on Foreign Affairs held an online hearing “The Arctic: a new arena of geostrategic importance and great powers’ rivalry”. The growing geo-economic and geopolitical importance of the Arctic region for the European economy and security calls for an updated, more integrated EU approach towards this region.
The hearing focused on the main geopolitical challenges and opportunities that a rapidly changing Arctic is creating in the fields of security, trade and development, and the exploitation of natural resources as well as their possible repercussions on Arctic governance. It also explored avenues towards developing a more coherent framework for EU action with a focus on the European Arctic, in order to have a unified response to the new challenges posed by the changing role of this region.