2009-01-24/Swedish EU presidency looks to Barents region
Swedish EU presidency looks to Barents region
By Michael de Laine, Copenhagen, 24th January 2009
The Swedish EU presidency later this year will draw attention to the importance of the collaboration in the Barents Sea region, according to a senior adviser in the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sweden will take over the rotating presidency of the European Union on 1st July for the following six months. In October it also takes over the Chair of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council from Russia for the next two years.
“Our ambition is to use the EU presidency to draw attention to the Barents Sea region,” said Per Wallén, a senior Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs adviser with responsibility for the Barents collaboration, to the Nörrbottens-Kuriren newspaper.
The Swedish government and the ministries are currently preparing for the EU Presidency.
Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt will arrive in Murmansk on 15th October to meet with his colleges from the other Barents countries - Jonas Gahr Støre (Norway), Alexander Stubb (Finland) and Sergey Lavrov (Russia).