... fearing that the work of the Arctic Council would suffer as a result.
This led to the applications of the European Union and other organizations being rejected. However, we should note that the European Union has been seeking observer status in the Arctic Council since 2008, without success. Russia and Canada agree on the status of the European Union. Canada has long been against granting observer status to the European Union.
The official reason was the EU ban on imports of seal fur, skin and meat. This disagreement was resolved in 2015. However, Russia,...
... the Arctic offers one of the few avenues for cooperation that still contains a tangible constructiveness and willingness for cooperation among the member countries.
Also of great importance is the fact that the United States, which will to take up the Arctic Council presidency from Canada this year, appears eager to isolate its function from international turbulence for the sake of closer cooperation.
I believe the next two years will be immensely significant in view of mutual socialization for the Arctic Council members, especially ...
... a vacuum”, as the saying goes. Many countries are known to aspire to join the Arctic Council or cooperate with this organization as observers.
The mistake committed by the Canadian ministers should not be exploited by finding a replacement for Canada on the Arctic Council in its absence or by making its positions worse at the Council’s future events. As legal experts are well aware, Canada’s absence from the Arctic Council creates a lot of procedural opportunities for reducing its role there....
... chairmanship, I think it is very important that the Americans are taking so much seriously the issue of the Arctic, particularly after the Obama administration came to power and Hillary Clinton started to participate in all negotiations.
What is the mark of Canada as chair of the Arctic Council? How has Canada’s international standing changed? How would you assess the results of the presidency so far?
In terms of how far Canada is able to keep this business initiative, this is something that we’re going to be watching ...