The European Union as a singular international legal subject in arctic governance

Abstract

Since the 1990s, the Arctic has been inevitably and progressively linked to climate change, causing great environmental concern and high expectations of economic exploitation. Until very recently, the special vulnerability of the Arctic has been protected from human exploitation because of its difficult access and habitability. Now this vulnerability is beginning to be compromised not only by its progressive accessibility as a consequence of the Arctic ice melt, but particularly by its probable profitability. Concern about this new scenario calls for enhanced legal protection, and although the international strategy to be followed led to some debate at first, the approach about Arctic governance is now sectoral and multileveled. As a result, the EU presence in that process is unequal (different according to the forum) and asymmetrical (it does not always correspond to the competences conferred by the states to the EU). In this area, the challenges that generally face the EU in terms of admission to the international legal community, show clearly. With respect to Arctic governance, the EU is not a forum (such as the Arctic Council) but an actor (as are States, Arctic and non-Arctic). However, being an International Organization and frequently coexist with its own Members —some of them Arctic— in the same forums where Arctic issues are addressed, do not facilitate its acceptance as an Arctic actor. The progress that may take place in relation to the acceptance of the EU in the international legal community, and the strengthening of a European Arctic with its own characteristics, may be elements in its favour.