Recent policy changes in the United States have prevented American experts from taking part in the upcoming Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference 2025, reported Xinhua, quoting National broadcaster Yle on Friday.
Experts from the U.S. Army War College had been slated to organize a panel at the event due in early May in Rovaniemi, northern Finland.
However, U.S. authorities have now prohibited the experts from traveling to the conference, Markku Heikkilä, head of Science Communications at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, told Yle.
"There is a very categorical travel ban, and it includes restrictions on what can be discussed," Heikkilä said, adding that the intended participants are security experts who had planned to address the impact of climate change on security.
Heikkilä expressed regret over their inability to attend and emphasized that the cancellation was not connected to the Arctic Centre itself. He also noted that at least two U.S. participants not funded by the U.S. government would still be attending the event.
According to Yle, the cancellation highlights how U.S. President Donald Trump's policies are increasingly hindering Arctic scientific cooperation. Washington's actions have negatively affected the Finnish scientific community, the broadcaster added, giving the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference as an example.
Yle also reported that the United States has pressured the University of Helsinki to remove terms such as "equal society" and "climate change" from press releases related to the Fulbright Scholarship Program, a prominent international academic exchange initiative funded by the U.S. government.
Although the Arctic Centre has not faced similar pressure directly, Heikkilä said the new environment has disrupted their planning efforts.
"Nobody knows what the situation is there – what can be funded, what cannot. Trips have been cancelled, all that kind of thing," he explained.
The Arctic Spirit Conference is Finland's premier international Arctic forum, and this year's edition will be held on May 5-7. Under the theme "Elements of Arctic Security," the conference will address various aspects of security in the Arctic, including human, environmental, climate, and traditional state security.
The conference is organized biennially by the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi.
- US
- Experts
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
