The EU Published a New Arctic Strategy

The European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented a new Arctic Strategy as a response to growing security, climate and economic challenges in the Arctic. The EU has identified four main priorities in the Arctic region: Security, Climate, Economy and People.

The EU aims for a secure, sustainable and prosperous Arctic, with local communities and Indigenous Peoples at the centre and Europe as a reliable long-term partner.  

In the heart of the EU approach to the Arctic is the Northern Neighbourhood, a political framework for closer and more structured cooperation between the EU, its Member States, Arctic partners and other like-minded partners.

UArctic was mentioned in the joint communication as one of the local players the EU will work with in the Arctic region:

"The EU’s presence in the Arctic is carried at local level, and many EU policies are implemented
locally, whether by municipalities or regions, by universities and research institutions, or by
business owners. The EU will work with local players, including regional representatives, the
Northern Sparsely Populated Areas Network, the North Calotte Council, the Arctic Six
alliance of universities, UArctic, the Arctic Mayors’ Forum, the Nordic Council of
Ministers, or the Arctic Economic Council, to support building sufficient local governance
capacity and the sustainable development of the Arctic at local level."

You can read more about the EU Arctic policy here.

Read the full joint communication paper here.