Ever since 2007/2008, the European Union (EU) and its various institutional actors have been developing a dedicated EU Arctic policy, setting common positions, stressing the EU’s Arctic credentials and prominently expressing its own “Arcticness”. These Arctic steps have been thoroughly scrutinised over the past decade. Yet, research has almost ignored one particular pillar of the EU’s Arctic endeavour: the “Arctic exception” in EU–Russia relations and the related lack of a distinct Russian dimension in the EU’s Arctic policy. Similarly, little is known of how the Russian side views the EU’s Arctic policy steps taken since 2008. The extensive transdisciplinary literature on EU–Russia relations has basically ignored how the EU has been represented in Russia ever since 1991. This article examines EU and Russian Arctic policies and their relations in the European North. In attempting to explore how the EU’s “Arcticness” has been presented, narrated and perceived in Russian media between 2008 and 2018, we draw upon an analysis of articles published on various Russian media platforms during that period. The study identified four core narratives of the EU’s engagement in the Arctic: the EU as player, as seeker, as prohibitor and as partner. These narratives provide evidence of the “Arctic exception” in EU–Russia relations, as well as offering some related explanations.

中文翻译：

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俄罗斯听说过欧盟的北极圈吗？从俄罗斯看欧盟的北极行动

自 2007/2008 年以来，欧盟 (EU) 及其各机构参与者一直在制定专门的欧盟北极政策，制定共同立场，强调欧盟的北极资质并突出表达其自身的“北极性”。在过去十年中，这些北极步骤已经过彻底审查。然而，研究几乎忽略了欧盟北极努力的一个特定支柱：欧盟与俄罗斯关系中的“北极例外”以及欧盟北极政策中缺乏明显的俄罗斯维度。同样，对于俄罗斯方面如何看待欧盟自 2008 年以来采取的北极政策措施也知之甚少。关于欧盟与俄罗斯关系的大量跨学科文献基本上忽略了自 1991 年以来欧盟在俄罗斯的代表性。本文探讨了欧盟和俄罗斯的北极政策及其在欧洲北部的关系。在试图探索 2008 年至 2018 年间俄罗斯媒体如何呈现、叙述和感知欧盟的“北极”时，我们分析了这一时期在俄罗斯各种媒体平台上发表的文章。该研究确定了欧盟参与北极的四个核心叙述：欧盟作为播放器， 作为寻求者， 作为禁止者并作为伙伴. 这些叙述为欧盟与俄罗斯关系中的“北极例外”提供了证据，并提供了一些相关的解释。