The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission have today adopted a policy proposal that will guide the actions of the European Union in the Arctic region.

27. Notes the increased activity surrounding the exploration of oil and gas fields in the Mediterranean and the Arctic; believes that the EU should promote the development of an international legal framework for the protection of the High Arctic, on lines similar to those already established for the Antarctic in the Antarctic Treaty and the Protocol on Environmental Protection; considers that for other parts of the Arctic which fall within the exclusive economic zones of EU Member States or EEA countries, there is an urgent need for the proposed regulation on the safety of offshore oil and gas ...[+++]to include drilling requirements which ensure that remote areas are not exposed to a higher risk than other areas and that extreme operating conditions, such as long-lasting darkness, icy conditions or deep water, are accurately reflected in the authorisation process;

111. Notes the importance of broad cooperation in the Arctic region, particularly among countries in the Euro-Atlantic sphere, including an agreement on a special regime; calls, therefore, on the Commission to come forward with a holistic assessment of the benefits and risks of EU involvement in the Arctic, including an environmental risk analysis, given the very fragile and indispensible areas, especially in the high Arctic;

19. Notes the importance of broad cooperation in the Arctic region, particularly among countries in the Euro-Atlantic sphere; calls, therefore, on the Commission to come forward with a holistic assessment of the benefits and risks of EU involvement in the Arctic, including an environmental risk analysis, given the very fragile and indispensible areas, especially in the High Arctic;

11. Reaffirms its support for, and urges the Commission to proceed with, the establishment of the EU Arctic Information Centre as a networked undertaking with a permanent office in Rovaniemi, with reference to the Preparatory Action ‘Strategic environmental impact assessment of the development of the Arctic’, as supported by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in their 2012 joint communication and implemented by the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland together with a network of European centres of excellence on the Arctic, with the goal of ensuring efficient access to Arc ...[+++]tic information, dialogues at all levels and communication for the purpose of harnessing information and knowledge with a view to sustainability in the Arctic;

52. Is of the opinion that a strengthened AC should play a leading role in cooperation on the Arctic and would therefore welcome politically and administratively improved capacities of the AC, e.g. the permanent secretariat currently under discussion, more equal sharing of costs, more frequent ministerial meetings and an Annual Arctic Summit on the Highest Level, as proposed by the Foreign Minister of the EU Member State Finland, which is also a Member of the Arctic Council; would further welcome greater involvement of the Parliament ...[+++]arians of the Arctic to underline the parliamentary dimension and be sure to include relevant non-Arctic players; furthermore insists that continued high-level meetings of an inner exclusive core of States will merely undermine the status and role of the AC as a whole; wishes the AC to maintain its open and inclusive approach and thus to remain open to all stakeholders;