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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union gave notice Thursday it is keen to have a share of the much sought after oil, gas, mineral and fish resources in the Arctic region as the polar ice cap melts.

The move is likely to irk other Arctic players, including Canada, Russia, Norway and the United States all of which have issued territorial claims in the polar region.

The European Commission said the 27-member bloc, which has three member states in the polar region - Denmark, Finland and Sweden - should get involved in the current rush in the Arctic, notably in offshore oil and gas exploitation.

Denmark controls the semiautonomous territory of Greenland.

The announcement was part of a first outline of priorities the EU is seeking in the Arctic, an area where the bloc is now planting its own flag of sorts as a key economic and security interest for Europe.

"The Arctic is a unique and vulnerable region located in the immediate vicinity of Europe," said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero Waldner.

"Its evolution will have significant repercussions on the life of Europeans for generations to come."

She added that the quickly changing Arctic posed new challenges and opportunities for EU states and as such the bloc needed to formulate a policy for the region.

Interest in the Arctic is intensifying because global warming is shrinking the polar ice and that could someday open up resource development and new shipping lanes.

Russia last year sent two small submarines to plant a tiny national flag under the North Pole, while Ottawa has announced plans to build a new army training centre and a deep-water port in contested Arctic waters.