ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the attempts by the European Union (EU) to contribute to these mappings and, in turn, to influence future stories about the Arctic region. It argues that it is difficult to decipher a singular approach by the European Union to the northern latitudes. Indeed, an appreciation of the evolution of the EU's interest in the Arctic region highlights a number of important themes expansionism, energy security, climate change, and interactions, even conflicts, between its constituent institutions. Indeed, when launched at the Luxembourg European Council in 1997, the Northern Dimension Initiative was Finland's first major political activity since accession to the EU. The first form of the Northern Dimension (ND) policy was launched, during the Finnish Presidency, at the Helsinki European Council in December 1999. The chapter suggests that the Northern Dimension partners might investigate mechanisms for projects around environmental projects that could cover wider areas of the European Arctic.
