The Role of Germany in Formation and Implementation of the EU Arctic Policy at the Current Stage

The study examines the role of Germany in the EU Arctic policy. Germany during its presidency of the Council of the EU in 2007 played an important role in the emergence of Brussels' policy in the Arctic. Arctic strategy of the EU, defined in 2016, was largely formed considering the interests of Germany. Berlin actively participates in the EU Arctic projects and it is given a central place in the research activities of Brussels in the region. The federal government, realizing the lack of grounds for independent promotion of its Arctic agenda, considers it as a supplement to the EU policy. Participating in the implementation of the EU Arctic policy, Germany seeks to achieve its strategic economic goals: import of natural resources, export of green technologies, exploitation of the Northwest and Northeast passages. The activities of Germany to promote the EU Arctic agenda in the framework of cooperation with the states of the Arctic Council, including Russia, are analyzed. Considerable attention is paid to the obstacles to Germany's greater involvement in the implementation of the EU Arctic policy.