Spurred by Chinese and Russian activity, EU President Juncker is making the Arctic more central to EU policy

By commissioning a fresh EU Arctic policy papers just before the next EU Parliament elections, Juncker is ensuring the region takes on new importance for Brussels.

Just as it is in Russia and in China, the Arctic is rapidly rising to the top of the political agenda of the European Union. Increased geopolitical focus on the Arctic is creating renewed urgency in Brussels when it comes to securing a proper role for the EU in the Arctic and to increasing European access to Arctic oil, gas, minerals, fish stocks and shipping routes.