Guide to the Swedish Presidency

Policy Priorities

On 2 March, Sweden’s Europe Minister, Cecilia Malmström, presented the logo of the upcoming Swedish EU presidency. Climate change, the financial crisis and, institutional issues are set to dominate Stockholm’s agenda in the second half of 2009.

With the Copenhagen UN conference on climate change taking place in December, the Swedish presidency is due to begin preparations for a new global agreement on emissions reduction one of its key priorities.

The Swedish government is to allocate €77 million for its turn at the EU presidency. So far, the French EU presidency has been by far the most lavish one, spending some €190 million. The current Czech EU presidency has a budget of €124.5 million.

Sweden will take on the role of President of the European Union during the context of the upcoming European elections and amidst uncertainty about when the next EU commission. Added onto this institutional limbo is the burden of the economic crisis and the planned second referendum in Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty, set for October.

Health Priorities

 Healthy and dignified ageing. The Commission recently published a 2009 Ageing Report in which it warns of the dangers of generational conflict in Europe if long-term structural changes are not undertaken.

 Antibiotics resistance

 Alcohol

 Communicable diseases

 e-Health

Calendar

Meetings in Brussels and Luxembourg

Most meetings during the Swedish Presidency will be held in Brussels and Luxembourg. This includes Council working groups and committee meetings, Coreper meetings, ministerial meetings and meetings with countries outside the EU.

For further information

Informal ministerial meetings in Sweden

Around one hundred Presidency meetings will be held in Sweden. Eleven of these are informal ministerial meetings, which will be held in seven different locations : Göteborg, Jönköping, Malmö, Stockholm, Umeå, Växjö and Åre.

Informal EPSCO :
 Informal meeting of health ministers : 6-7 July in Jönköping,
 Informal meeting of employment and social security ministers : 8-9 July in Jönköping

For further information

Other Government meetings in Sweden

Alongside the informal ministerial meetings, 102 other meetings on the official calendar will be held in Sweden during the six months of the Presidency.

Seminars and conferences :

 Innovative Incentives for Effective Antibacterials, September 17, Stockholm
 8th European Round Table on Poverty and Social Exclusion, October 15-16, Stockholm
 Expert conference on the prevention of alcohol-related harm, September 21-22, Stockholm
 Expert conference on healthy, active and dignified ageing, September 15-16, Solna
 Workshop on health threats - zoonoses and climate impact, July 2-3, Jönköping
 High-level conference on exclusion (jointly organised with Ministry of Employment), October 26-27, Stockholm

Additional meetings :

 Informal meeting of the Social Protection Committee, September 14, Solna
 High-level meeting of the Committee on Public Health, November 25-26, Solna
 Meeting of EU Drug Policy Coordinators, November 2-3, Solna Europe de l’Enfance, November 20, Solna
 Meeting of representatives involved in the Mutual Information System on Social Protection (MISSOC), November 10-11, Solna
 Follow-up on the use of medicinal products, July 29, Solna

For further information

For further information :

 Swedish Presidency’s website

 Swedish Permanent Representation’s website

Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (Sieps) : The Swedish 2009 Presidency - Possible Policy Priorities (October 2009)