mr president the arctic has been described as the last imaginary place
it is a special place for many people
we are in the midst of international polar year
the last such commemoration saw the emergence of a charter for the antarctic
the arctic is different
it has peoples and nations but it is also the focus of global climate change with all its threats challenges and opportunities
i have long argued that we should have an arctic policy perhaps through our northern dimension mechanism and i was very pleased a month ago to attend a conference in greenland on behalf of our president where i found myself for the first time surrounded by more than a dozen commission officials from different dgs
somebody has now got the message that this is important
we look forward to the coming commission communication but this resolution is to give you commissioner courage to be bold and to show you how important this house considers this issue
yes we have to protect the fragility of the arctic environment
yes we have to look at sustainable ways of developing resources in the arctic specifically energy-based resources
yes we have to look at how we can safely use any emerging sea routes
there is much more that i could say
i am grateful to colleagues for their cooperation on this very important resolution
when our continent emerged from the cold war gorbachev said that the arctic should be an area of peaceful international cooperation
i believe that our union has a duty to secure that both for our own arctic nations and also for our arctic neighbours so courage with your communication
