The Changing Arctic and the European Union provides a balanced and up-to-date overview of the multidimensional change taking place in the Arctic regions. Against this background, the role of the European Union regarding Arctic developments is considered, including the ongoing process of formulating an umbrella EU Arctic policy. In particular, the themes of climate change, maritime transport, fisheries, offshore oil and gas extraction, mining, land use and sociocultural change are discussed. The book comprises primarily an updated and expanded version of the report Strategic Assessment of Development of the Arctic: An assessment conducted for the European Union, produced for the European Commission. The report was to a great extent based on the interaction with Arctic stakeholders.
Adam StÄpieÅ (1983) is a researcher at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland. He specializes in Arctic governance, European Union, regional development, development cooperation and indigenous politics.
Timo Koivurova (1967), Research Professor, is a director of the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law in the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland. He has authored books and articles on Arctic governance, EIA, and international environmental law.
Paula Kankaanpää (1963), Professor, had been a director of the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland since 2000. Starting from August 2015, she is director of the Marine Research Centre of the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).
The book could be of use particularly to those less familiar with Arctic affairs and willing to broaden their understanding of the changes in the region or the role the EU plays in shaping these developments.