The Swedish EU Presidency

On July 1 Sweden took on the Presidency of the European Union.

From the 1st of July, Sweden has taken on the role as EU Presidency. This means that Sweden will manage the work in the EU and is responsible to put forward some of the important EU-topics. The Swedish Embassies have a special mission to inform on Sweden and the Swedish presidency ahead and during these six months.

In addition to the "normal" duties of a Presidency, Sweden will face institutional challenges – a newly elected European Parliament, the transition to a new Commission and – hopefully – the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. Continued EU co-operation in order to counter the economic crisis will be an important task for the Presidency. Another prioritized issue will be the preparations for the Copenhagen Summit on climate change.

The objective of the Swedish Government is to conduct a professional and results-oriented Presidency and to be an honest broker among the interests of the member states.

The Ambassador of Sweden to Greece Mr. Håkan Malmqvist presented on July 1 the Swedish Presidency priorities to the Greek media at a press conference at the European Parliaments office for Greece. A number of approximately 60 journalists followed the briefing together with some of the EU Ambassadors in town.

More News

Nov 10 2009 The time has come to...Dance with Somebody!
Friday 11th of December 2009, the Swedish Rock band Mando Diao will play live at Gagarin 205 in Athens and on Saturday 12th of December 2009 they will play live at Principal Club Theater, Thessaloniki. Be there!
Nov 9 2009 Pettson and Findus at the Greek TV-channel ALTER
Pettson and Findus is a popular series of childrens books written and illustrated by Swedish author Sven Nordqvist, and now shown in a film version at Saturday mornings 09:15, channel ALTER.
Oct 15 2009 New IKEA store in Larisa
The fourth IKEA department store in Greece and the 302 in the world was inaugurated yesterday in radiant sunshine and crispy, cool autumn weather. The inauguration started 8 o´clock in the morning with a Swedish breakfast buffet for the 300 invited guests including salmon, herrings, meat balls, sour milk and cinnamon buns.
Oct 15 2009 Welcome to the Embassy of Sweden in Athens, Greece
The mission of the Embassy is to represent the Government of Sweden in Greece and to promote relations between Sweden and Greece.
Oct 8 2009 Herta Müller wins the Nobel Literature Prize
German writer Herta Müller has been announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2009. Herta Müller was born on August 17, 1953 in the German-speaking town Nitzkydorf in Banat, Romania.
Sep 25 2009 A broad presentation of Swedish sustainable solutions
A methodological concept for Urban planning, Symbio City, and examples of different environmental friendly solutions from the Malmö municipality, Stockholm City, Hammarby Sjöstad and Argos Orestico in Macedonia was presented at a seminar held in Athens during Wednesday. Deputy Minister for Trade, Gunnar Wieslander, ensured the audience that it is possible to combine economic growth and sustainable environmental solutions. At the picture Gunnar Wieslander is being interviewed by the national television in Greece.
Sep 17 2009 More of Swedish Design (S) in Athens
Many Athenians interested in Design and architecture attended the Design seminar at Eugenides Foundation on Wednesday night. They met and listened to various Swedish and Greek speakers. Mårten Claesson from Claesson Koivisto Rune was one of the brilliant speakers.
Sep 11 2009 Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden inaugurated the exhibition Design S in Athens
- I gladly accepted the invitation to come to Athens for the official opening of the Design S exhibition, which also marks the start of a number of various activities related to Sweden and the European Union Presidency, The Crown Princess said in her speech.
Aug 26 2009 Design S in Athens 11-27 September
Next stop Athens! The travelling exhibition Design S 08/09 is on tour around the world. The Exhibition has, during this year, been shown around the world, in Washington, New York and Hamburg among others. In September it´s time for Athens, coinciding also with the ongoing Swedish Presidency of the European Union.
Aug 11 2009 Engagement between Princess Madeleine and Mr. Jonas Bergström
On Tuesday 11 August 2009, the engagement between Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine and Mr. Jonas Bergström was announced.
Jun 4 2009 The up-coming Greek smoke ban and the Swedish experiences
In Greece approximately 40 percent of the population are smoking. Regarding the smoking ban that will come into effect the 1st of July a half day seminar was held this Monday in Athens on the damages from smoking and Sweden’s experiences of 4 years with a smoking ban. The Greek state owned TV-channels are now carrying out an intense campaign on the damages and the up-coming smoking ban.
May 19 2009 Stockholm the world´s most IT-intelligent city
The city of Stockholm has been awarded the award Intelligent Community of the Year 2009. The award was presented at a conference in New York May 15. Behind the label says think tank communtiy forum, ICF.
May 8 2009 Launching of BabyBjörn in Greece
The baby product company BabyBjörn has visited Athens for a press event this week. The event was held at the Swedish residency with around 40 guests, mostly from Greek media, with some special invited children from 4 months of age up to 1 year. Potties, baby carriers, travel beds and babysitters covered a large part of the residential terrace and were closely examined by the guests. Discussions came up not only on baby products, but also on quality and safety for children and adults. Many appreciated the specially made test baby sitters for adults that BabyBjörn brings to exhibitions and different events. These were exact copies of the original and were greatly used later on.
Apr 10 2009 The Honorary Consulate of Sweden in Rhodes
The Consulate in Rhodes will close as of April 30, 2009. Within the framework of Nordic Consular Cooperation, the Honorary Consulate of Norway in Rhodes, will – until further notice – take care also of cases related to Swedish citizens.
Mar 26 2009 Astrid Lindgren prize to Palestinian education group
A Palestinian education centre’s work to promote reading in the West Bank and Gaza, has earned it a Swedish literature award named for famed children’s book author Astrid Lindgren.
Mar 20 2009 Swedish Testimony on Banking Crisis
The Director General of the Swedish national Debt Office, Mr. Bo Lundgren, testified in Washinton before the Congressional Oversight Panel on Thursday, March 19th, during a public hearing on government responses to major banking crises of the 20th century.
Feb 26 2009 Royal Engagement
Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling have announced their engagement. The wedding will take place during the early summer of 2010.
Feb 24 2009 Stockholm – ”First European Green Capital Award”
At an award ceremony in Brussels, the first European Green Capital award was given to Stockholm for 2010. The Swedish capital has the ambition target of saying goodbye to fossils by 2050
Feb 19 2009 Seminar on renewable energy focusing on Efficient use of Energy
During Wednesday the18th of February the Swedish trade council in Athens together with the Swedish Embassy hosted a seminar on renewable energy at the Divani Caravel Hotel.
Feb 19 2009 SAAB delivered a top modern defence system to Greece.
A delivery ceremony of the Swedish-manufactured defence system “Erieye Airborne Early Warning & Control Systems”, was held the 12th of February at the Elefsina-base nearby Athens. The system is with that formally delivered to the Greek air force by SAAB.
Feb 19 2009 Cancer Forum- a seminar with prominent Swedish specialists
The 12th of February, the Greek company Care Life together with Swedish Global Hospital arranged a seminar in Athens concerning healthcare across nations borders. Several Greek cancer doctors attended to learn of this network which unites experts, surgeons and hospitals worldwide.
Jan 29 2009 No metro service to the airport for six months from mid-February
Athens metro service from Ethiniki Amina Station to Athens airport will be temporary suspended for six months after February 14, while the construction of a new station at Aghia Paraskevi is underway. During that time, line 3 trains will terminate at Ethiniki Amina Station.
Jan 8 2009 The Government's Music Export Prize 2008 goes to Björn Ulvaeus och Benny Andersson for their contribution to Swedish music exports.
Minister for Trade Ewa Björling attended the Swedish Grammy Awards (Grammisgalan) at Hovet to award the prize to the winners. The Music Export Prize for extraordinary contributions to Swedish music exports is awarded for the twelfth year in a row. The prize consists of a diploma and a glass sculpture designed by designer Dorthea Vojnic.
Dec 5 2008 Marble fragment returned to Greece
During a solemn ceremony on Tuesday a marble fragment was returned to Greece after 60 years and more in Sweden.
Nov 19 2008 Author Theodor Kallifatides receives Swedish Academy award
Greek expatriate Theodor Kallifatides is the recipient of the Swedish Academy 2008 Singe Ekblad-Eldhs award which is accompanied by a money prize of 12,500 euros.
Nov 4 2008 Welcome to Sweden
Find an exciting City Break in Stockholm, Gothenburg or Malmö, or why not leave the world behind in Swedish Lapland with the most vast, dramatic and spectacular untamed wilderness areas that Europe has to offer.
Oct 17 2008 First news portal dedicated to Sweden is now launched
The Council for the Promotion of Sweden (consisting of the Swedish Government Offices including the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, the Invest in Sweden Agency, the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Trade Council and VisitSweden) and the company The NewsMarket have launched the first news video portal dedicated to Sweden.
Sep 29 2008 The Swedish film Ping-Pongkingen is the winner of Athens International Filmfestival first price
The film Ping-Pongkingen was rewarded to the prestigious film prize Athens Gold in Athens International Filmfestival this Sunday. The producer of the film, Jan Blomgren, was on stage and received the prize with proud in the full seated Atticon theater in central Athens.
Sep 15 2008 Håkan Malmqvist The New Swedish Ambassador in Athens
Today, 15 September, Håkan Malmqvist takes office as the new Swedish ambassador in Athens. Håkan Malmqvist has, the latest six years, been head of the America’s Departement at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs with responsibility for Sweden's relations with countries in North, Central and South America. - I’m looking forward to spend the next years in one of the countries in Europe where there are a number of interesting issues to work with, sais Håkan Malmqvist

Back

Print version