Call for Papers: The European Union and the Arctic

The School of Law of the University of Dundee and the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea at the University of Tromsø have issued a call for papers for a conference on "The European Union and the Arctic," to be held May 29-30, 2015, in Dundee. Here's the call:

The European Union and the Arctic

29-30 May 2015, Dundee, Scotland

Call for Papers

The School of Law, University of Dundee, UK and the K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Tromsø, Norway are pleased to announce the call for papers for “The European Union and the Arctic” (2015 EU-Arctic Conference).

Background

The EU is inextricably linked to the Arctic region by a unique combination of history, geography, economics and scientific achievements (COM (2008) 763 final). Three Arctic countries are EU Member States (Denmark, Sweden and Finland) and the EU maintains close relations with Iceland and Norway through the European Economic Area. Canada, Russia and the United States are also strategic partners of the EU. The European Commission has set out the EU’s interests in the Arctic and has proposed action around three main policy objectives: 1) Protecting and preserving the Arctic in unison with its population; 2) Promoting sustainable use of resources; 3) Contributing to enhanced Arctic multilateral governance (COM (2008) 763 final). However, the best way to ensure that the EU’s interests are protected and that the policies it pursues are adopted has not been mapped out. While the EU is willing to pursue its involvement within the relevant international framework (e.g., the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and Convention on Biological Diversity) on Arctic issues such as climate change, biodiversity, ecosystem-based management, persistent organic pollutants, marine protected areas, energy, fisheries, tourism, international navigation and indigenous people (JOIN (2012) 19 final), choices must be made as to which policy avenue to pursue. How these choices are to be made and which avenues are the best to pursue its policy objectives are some of the many questions which have yet to be fully addressed by scholars.

Call for abstracts

This conference will bring together academics and practitioners from relevant disciplines such as international law, international relations, political science and marine biology, NGOs, representatives from EU institutions and international organizations to discuss the EU's potential contribution to enhance Arctic governance. A roadmap for increasing the effectiveness of the EU’s action in the Arctic will be drawn at the end of the conference. This conference is timely as the Council of the European Union recently (Council conclusions on developing a European Union Policy towards the Arctic Region, 24 May 2014) requested the European Commission and the High Representative to present proposals for the further development of an integrated and coherent Arctic Policy by December 2015.

Abstracts of no more than 400 words should be emailed to Dr. Nengye Liu (n.x.liu@dundee.ac.uk) by 15 January 2015. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed. Selected speakers will be notified by 31 January 2015. It is anticipated that an edited book of papers from the conference will be published in 2016.

Confirmed Speakers

A number of speakers have confirmed their availability to speak at the 2015 EU-Arctic Conference. Ms. Diana Wallis, former Vice President of the European Parliament, will deliver the keynote speech. Other confirmed speakers include:

Tom Barry, Executive Secretary, Working Group Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), Arctic Council

Prof. Timo Koivurova, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland

Marten Koopmans, EU/European Maritime Safety Agency Representative to the International Maritime Organization

Prof. Frithjof Kuepper, Chair in Marine Biodiversity, University of Aberdeen, UK

Prof. Suzanne Lalonde, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, Canada

Daniel Simons, Legal Counsel, Greenpeace International

Dundee and the Arctic

Dundee, the fourth largest city in Scotland, is promoted as 'One City, Many Discoveries' in honour of Dundee's history of scientific activities and of the RRS Discovery (Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in Dundee and is now berthed in the city harbour). The Discovery is part of Dundee’s history as the British whaling capital from about 1753 to 1914. Dundee whaling captains contributed significantly to surveying of remote regions in the Arctic and Antarctic. Another great Polar explorer, Ernest Shackleton, also chose Dundee built ships the ‘Nimrod’ and the ‘Aurora’ for his expeditions to the Antarctic. Conference participants will have the opportunity to visit the city's main museum and art gallery, McManus Galleries, for free to further discover Dundee’s strong link with the Arctic.

Travel arrangements

Dundee is very easy to reach by bus, train and flight from Edinburgh, Glasgow or London. Generously sponsored by the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship (Call FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF Proposal No 328806, Acronym: EuroArcticLab project) of the European Union and K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, this event is free of charge for speakers. The conference will provide coffee, refreshments and lunch. The conference also plans to hold a reception on the main deck of the RSS Discovey. However, it is expected that selected speakers will cover their own travel and accommodation costs. Participants shall register with Ms. Vikki Watson (v.a.watson@dundee.ac.uk) by 1 May 2015. Further details will be emailed in January 2015.

Steering Committee

Nengye Liu, Marie Curie Fellow, School of Law, University of Dundee

Elizabeth Kirk, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Dundee

Robin Churchill, Professor of International Law, School of Law, University of Dundee

Tore Henriksen, Professor, Director of K.G.Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Tromsø