00:00Now moving on to the Arctic, which has become the new magnet for major world powers as melting ice opens
00:05up new shipping routes.
00:06And to keep afloat here amidst the US, China and Russian interest, the EU Commission has just presented their very
00:12own EU Arctic proposal.
00:14For more, our Marit Gwynn spoke to the EU's head of international partnerships, Joseph Sakela, and started by asking, why
00:20now?
00:21We basically try to reflect the new Arctic reality, and the Arctic is changing very fast.
00:26This is about new attention to security and defense aspect, including the protection of the civil infrastructure.
00:37Of course, the changes are also affecting the new economic opportunities.
00:42But everything what we do, and this is basically the first main part of the strategy, we want to do
00:50together with the people who call Arctic its home.
00:53So with the indigenous people and the local communities.
00:57I want to ask you about what the strategy says about oil and gas drilling, because it maintains the EU's
01:05position that it wants a ban on any drilling in the Arctic region.
01:10Yet the message from other parts of the world is very different.
01:14The message from the White House is very clear.
01:16Can the EU maintain this position when basically the rest of the world is taking a completely different stance?
01:25And especially given the rising price of energy right now.
01:29The sustainability, the climate protection and the environmental protection is staying the overarching principle of our Arctic strategy.
01:39And when it comes to basically the plans of drilling, for example, in Greenland, I'm very much aware about the
01:48content of the agreements.
01:50And we follow the principle that nothing can happen without the local people.
01:59And there is no preferential treatment for U.S. companies when it comes to territory of Greenland.
02:08So nothing changed on our side.
02:11We believe that basically the fossil fuels, the coal, the gas, the oil should stay in the ground.
02:21You've pushed back against efforts to cut international funding as part of the EU's next long term budget.
02:29What do you think the consequences would be if this part, this part called global Europe, would be cut in
02:37the negotiations now amongst member states?
02:40Well, I think the consequences will be not only dramatic, but I tend to say in certain areas they might
02:49become even dystopic.
02:50Look, Europe is the EU and the member states are basically the biggest supporter of the development agenda worldwide.
03:00But the step back by some of the other countries basically is meanwhile costing lives.
03:07And there is a huge window of opportunity for Europe, not only in Arctic, but also in Africa and other
03:15continents.
03:16There is a huge demand for Europe.
03:19This demand for Europe will not remain open forever.
03:24So if we miss this window of opportunity, which can help us to reduce the dependencies,
03:30then it will be, in my eyes, a big failure.
