Arctic policy of the European Union in 1973 and Sweden and Finland in 1995). The European Union's application to become a “permanent observer” in the Arctic Council was blocked in 2009 by Canada in response to the European Union's ban on the importation of seal products. The Arctic is an area of growing strategic importance. The European Union supports the successful Arctic co-operation and in helping to meet the challenges that now confront the region. The European Union is the world's strongest proponent of greater international efforts to fight climate change. It has three (and if the accession of Iceland to the European Union occurs, potentially
Arctic Cordillera regularly travel to it. More than one-fifth of Ellesmere Island is protected as Quttinirpaaq National Park (formerly Ellesmere Island National Park), which includes seven fjords and a variety of glaciers, as well as Lake Hazen, the world's largest lake north of the Arctic Circle. Barbeau Peak, the highest mountain in Nunavut () is located in the British Empire Range on Ellesmere Island. The most northern mountain range in the world, the Challenger Mountains, is located in the northwest region of the island. The northern lobe of the island is called Grant Land. In July 2007, a study noted the disappearance