THE INSTITUTE OF EUROPE OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
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the institute of europe of the russian academy of sciences

IE RAS Academic Council meeting on the Arctic region development problems

  • 09 March 2016

On March 9, 2016 IE RAS Academic Council held a regular meeting in the course of which acute problems of the Arctic region were discussed, based on the report «20 years of the Arctic Council: current state and prospects of international cooperation. Russia in the Arctic region», presented by leading scientific associate of IE RAS Center for Northern European Studies V.P. Zhuravel.

The report and the speeches of IE RAS Director, Professor RAS Al.A. Gromyko, IE RAS Director Emeritus, Academician RAS V.V. Zhurkin, IE RAS Deputy Directors, Corresponding Member RAS V.P. Fedorov and V.B. Belov, as well as Head of Department of European Security D.А. Danilov, Head of Center for Energy Policy А.D. Khaytun and others, outlined the growing importance of the Arctic region in modern global politics. The region both seriously affects the climate and ecology of our planet, and sets new principles of inter-state relations in the context of the changing global balance of economic and political powers.

Academic Council members carefully disclosed the reasons for the growing interest to the Arctic region (considerable resource potential, perspective sea transportation system, unfinished demarcation of international Northern marine areas and Arctic shelf, as well as global warming). Special attention was paid to analysis of activities of the Arctic Council, celebrating its 20th anniversary in September 2016. The participants considered preliminary results of the current US chairmanship in the Council, as well as threats and challenges in the Artic, posed by anti-Russia sanctions and possible NATO expansion to Sweden and Finland. It was stated that the main goal of geopolitical strategies of many countries now is the struggle for oil and gas, transport communication, advantages in the Arctic.

Significant part of the discussion was devoted to the position of Russia as the largest Arctic power. Analysis of activities of the State Commission on Arctic Development proved that its establishment was timely and the first year of its operation was fruitful. The participants praised the measures taken to enhance presence in the Arctic region of Russian Defense and Emergency Situations Ministries, as well as Federal Security Service. Any accusations of militarization of the Arctic in this context were named groundless, as the military infrastructure deployment in the Arctic is aimed at protection of the national interests of Russia, promoting the balance of powers and counteraction to any security threats in the region.

Prior to the Academic Council meeting, its members received the draft of Federal Law «On Development of the Russian Arctic Zone». During the discussion, participants outlined the acute necessity of adopting such law, along with suggesting some amendments to the draft, as means of creating proper legislative base for further exploration and development of the Arctic.
IE RAS Director Al.A. Gromyko concluded the discussion by stressing the growing importance of the Arctic in the European politics, as well as its becoming the main stream of research for all centers of the Institute. In this context he outlined the need for maintaining tight working connections of IE RAS specialists with other IE institutes, Expert council of the State Commission on Arctic Development, Northern (Arctic) Federal University n.a М.V. Lomonosov and other organizations, on all aspects of research of the Arctic and its impact on policy and strategy of European countries.

http://raipon.info/info/news/1713/ 

http://narfu.ru/aan/news.php?ELEMENT_ID=234244

http://arctic.gov.ru/News/713bd02f-a9e9-e511-80c8-aeb573f95262?nodeId=0778abc6-cd4b-e511-825f-10604b797c23&page=1&pageSize=10

IE RAS Academic Council meeting on the Arctic region development problems