Universiteit Leiden

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Lecture | Seminar

EU’s engagement in the Arctic

  • Michael Mann, EU Special Envoy for Arctic matters
Date
Wednesday 18 May 2022
Time
Series
European Union Seminar Series
Location
Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden
Room
005

The Arctic has gained prominence in recent years as a number of international trends – from the fight for climate change to the struggle to access the rare minerals needed for further development of ‘green’ technologies and rivalry among world economic powers – come to a head in this environmentally fragile region of the world. For the EU, the need to engage responsibly is also highlighted by difficult colonial legacies of its member states’ to parts of the Arctic territories and the still fraught relations to its indigenous communities.

In his talk, Mr Mann will discuss the scope of EU’s current activities in the region, its attempts to contribute to international governance in the Arctic, and the ways in which conflicts with Russia, especially in the wake of the recent invasion of Ukraine, have affected Arctic cooperation.

Mr Mann is the EU’s special envoy for Arctic matters. His previous positions include that of EU Ambassador to Iceland, head of Strategic Communications at the European External Action Service and Chief Spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, the first holder of the post of High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission. Earlier in his career he spent several years as a Commission Spokesperson and before that worked as a journalist in Brussels, among other for the Financial Times.

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