COPENHAGEN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The European Union should take on a more strategic and proactive role in the European Arctic, 12 member states including Germany, France and the Netherlands said in a joint statement on Monday.
Finland, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden called on the union to commit to strengthening its Arctic engagement "with adequate resources and in line with evolving geopolitical realities."
"We agree that the EU needs to step up its action to promote stability, sustainable development and prosperity while safeguarding its interests," they said after a meeting of the countries' leaders in Rovaniemi in northern Finland.
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Anna Ringstrom)
