The European Parliament supports the idea to establish an EU Arctic Information Centre and mentions in this connection the initiative of the University of Lapland. The Information Centre is included in the report on Sustainable EU Policy for the High North that the Parliament, accepted on Thursday, 20th January.
The Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland has made an initiative to
host an EU Arctic Information Centre. According to this initiative the
Centre could have a network structure with headquarters in Rovaniemi, in
the European Arctic.
Professor Paula Kankaanpää, Director of the Arctic Centre, sees as a
major accomplishment the fact that the European Parliament directly
mentions the University on Lapland initiative.
During the debate in plenary many Finnish MEP’s praised the Arctic
expertise of the University of Lapland. Enlargement commissar Stefan
Füle said that the Commission now takes note of the discussion related
to the EU Arctic Information Centre and the role of the University of
Lapland.
The Commission has not yet made any decision to establish the EU Arctic
Information Centre. The possibility has been mentioned in the Commission
and Council Arctic papers in 2008 and 2009. A new Arctic report by the
Commission is expected to be ready in summer 2011.
More information:
Director, Professor Paula Kankaanpää, Arctic Centre, tel. +358 (0)40 777 7825
Head of Science Communications Markku Heikkilä, Arctic Centre, tel. +358 (0)40 484 4300
Chief Executive Producer Nicolas Gunslay, Arctic Centre, tel. +358 (0)40 735 7296
Report on a sustainable EU Policy for the High North
Background on the EU Arctic Information Centre
Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland
Paragraph 59 of the High North report
59.
Is of the opinion that the EU should develop further its capacities
and calls on the Commission to explore and report on the establishment
as well as on the continuation of EU activities in the Arctic such as a
circumpolar joint multilateral research funding programme providing for
easier and less bureaucratic cooperation and joint projects of the
research community;
requests the Commission to explore as a key priority the establishment
of an EU Arctic Information Centre as a joint, networked undertaking,
taking into account suitable proposals;
notes the proposal by the University of Lapland in this respect;
considers that such a centre needs to be capable both of organising
permanent EU outreach to the major actors relevant to the Arctic and of
channelling Arctic information and services towards the EU's
Institutions and stakeholders;
UoL / Arctic Centre / Markku Heikkilä