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Strengthening the Capacity of the Arctic Council
from its structure and the non-legally binding nature of its decisions – as well as in global terms, and,
specifically, developing an external action in line with its objectives.
The “Package Solution”
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to Strengthening the Arctic Council
At the Deputy Ministers‘ meeting held in May 2010, it was decided to work on four main issues with
the aim of strengthening the AC in order to face the rapidly changing circumstances in the Arctic
that have increased the challenges and opportunities in both volume and complexity
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: 1) the role of
observers and configuring their participation; 2) the question of a permanent secretariat; 3) the
question of budgeting expenditure; and 4) the nature of the decisions taken in the AC and the
increased use of task forces.
As we will explain, a series of decisions about these questions were developed and adopted at the
AC‘s Ministerial Meetings held in Nuuk (2011) and in Kiruna (2013). In order to study if and how
these new decisions strengthen the role of the AC, we will summarize them in three sections: 1) the
establishment of the Permanent Arctic Council Secretariat; 2) the role of observers in the AC; and 3)
the nature of the decisions taken at the Arctic Council.
The Establishment of the Permanent Arctic Council Secretariat:
Changing the AC‘s Structure after Fifteen Years
The establishment of an Arctic Council Secretariat (ACS) is the only reform of its structure
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that has
been carried out in the AC since its creation in 1996. The aim of reinforcing its role was already
present in the Tromsø Declaration (2009) in two ways: 1) the political role of the Arctic Council by
having a meeting at deputy Minister level, with representatives of Permanent Participants, in order to
discuss emerging issues between Ministerial meetings; and 2) a further consideration on the best way
of structuring the Arctic Council in order to fulfill its objectives stated in Ottawa Declaration, that is,
―sustainable development in the Arctic region, including economic and social development,
improved health conditions and cultural well-being and affirming concurrently our commitment to
the protection of the Arctic environment, including the health of Arctic ecosystems, maintenance of
biodiversity in the Arctic region and conservation and sustainable use of natural resources‖. In this
sense, the rapid evolution of the effects of the climate change on this area
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required a strengthening
of the AC
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by means of the creation of a Permanent Secretariat, and four new Task Forces: 1) on
arctic marine oil pollution prevention (TFOPP); 2) for action on black carbon and methane
(TFBCM); 3) for enhancing scientific cooperation in the Arctic; and 4) to facilitate the creation of a
circumpolar business forum.
Finally, the decision on the creation of the ACS was adopted on the occasion of the seventh
Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council (Nuuk Declaration 2011: b2) as one of the elements that
should contribute to the strengthening of the AC. In this sense, the Nuuk Declaration states that
members ―(…) decide to strengthen the capacity of the Arctic Council to respond to the challenges
and opportunities facing the Arctic by establishing a standing Arctic Council Secretariat‖. The
headquarters of the ACS is in Tromsø, Norway and officially opened in June 2013 after the Eighth
Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council in Sweden.