On 20 June, the Council of the European Union released its conclusions in response to the Joint Communication on an integrated European Union policy for the Arctic adopted by the European Commission and the High Commissioner of the European External Action Service on 27 April 2016.

The text of their press release reads as follows:

The Council discussed the future integrated EU policy for the Arctic with a view to set out a coherent response to the environmental, economic and social challenges of the region, on the basis of the joint communication by the High Representative and the Commission issued in April 2016. An important objective of the EU is to contribute to enhancing socio-economic resilience in the Arctic region, which is home to 4 million inhabitants, while also enhancing environmental resilience.

Read the full text of the Council conclusions on the Arctic