The EU in Antarctica: an Emerging Area of Interest, Or Playing to the (Environmental) Gallery?
The EU in Antarctica: An Emerging Area of Interest, or Playing to the (Environmental) Gallery? * * Andreas RASPOTNIK & Andreas ØSTHAGEN Over the past decade, the EU has developed broader interests in the polar regions – ranging from fisheries, research and environmental protection to foreign affairs. Although this applies mainly to the Arctic region, its geographical opposite – the Antarctic – has not fallen into oblivion. This article explores the EU’s way ‘south’, examining its links to the region as well as the key drivers of this growing – albeit still limited – Antarctic engagement. International actions taken to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) also indicate supranational tendencies to engage actively in and with Antarctic affairs. In particular, this concerns the European Commission and broader debates on sustainable development and global environmental leadership. Keywords: European Union, Antarctic, Marine Protected Areas, Fisheries, Antarctic Treaty System 1 INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, the EU and its various institutional actors have developed specific policies for geographical regions where the EU and its Member States hold interests. One example of this – driven by climate-change awareness, economic interests, geo- political shifts and intra-institutional policy expansion – concerns the polar regions. Despite several setbacks, these steps have been largely successful in the Arctic, with the EU having become an accepted partner at the Arctic governance table. However, compared to its fluid eastern and southern neighbourhoods, the Arctic and its regional layer – the European Arctic – are not key priority areas for the EU. They remain essentially a marginal note in EU foreign policy – a periphery on the periphery.1 With the Arctic’s geographical opposite, Antarctica, there is even less engagement.2 With most of its territory located in the Northern Hemisphere, EU * Senior Research Fellows at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Lysaker, Norway.
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