Safeguarding Artic Resources No less than a week after presenting its ‘Communication on the Arctic Region’, the European Commission’s attempts at forging a coherent Arctic policy have already taken a knock back. On 25 November 2008, Greenland has voted in favour of further self-rule away from Denmark with 75% voting ‘yes’ in a vote that had a 72% turnout. This vote is of significant importance as the EU’s influence in the Arctic is in many ways contingent upon Denmark’s diminishing link to Greenland, one of the few Arctic coastal states encircling the North Pole together with Canada, Russia, Norway and the United States. Further independence for Greenland, so far the only country to have seceded from the EU, will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the European Union’s influence in the Arctic.
