The Swedish Presidency of the EU

The Swedish Presidency
of the EU
– Meetings with the public
Young Reporters covering the ministerial meetings (p. 4)
Smart climate lists from the public (p. 8)
High-level Baltic Sea cooperation (p. 10)
Over the past six months, thousands of Presidency
meetings have been held and in Sweden the towns and
cities hosting the meetings have ranged from Malmö in
the south to Abisko in the north. Hundreds of ministers, delegates, spouses, journalists and civil servants
have participated and been given an insight into Swedish conditions in areas such as agriculture, enterprise
and social issues. The municipalities have been key actors and have displayed Sweden’s diversity by showing
off its nature, culture, food and knowledge.
But what has characterised the Presidency, in addition
to all the policy issues such as the Treaty of Lisbon,
climate change, the Baltic Sea and working to ensure
a safer and more secure Europe? Well, above all we
hope that the Presidency has succeeded in explaining the EU in a comprehensible way, that it has made
the EU less dramatic and made everyone feel that this
really does affect my daily life. To show the connection
between the major, global issues and local issues has
been an important aspect of the communication work
in order to reach people.
One of my lasting memories from this time is the
climate-friendly tips from the public on how to combat
climate change in your daily life.
On the following pages you can read about all the different communications activities held all over Sweden
for and with the public during the Presidency. Everything, from seminars with ministers and upper secondary school pupils on the spot where the action is, to
food and climate conversations
with chef and meteorologist.
Welcome to an exciting read
about an exciting six months!
Stockholm, February 2010.
KRISTINA ZETTERSTRÖM,
DIRECTOR OF THE COMMUNICATIONS
SECRETARIAT OF THE PRIME
MINISTER’S OFFICE
PHOTO: STINA GULLANDER/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
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The Presidency in figures
Russia seminar in Luleå
The Swedish Presidency and relations between the EU and Russia. This was the theme of a public seminar held on 30 November in Kulturens Hus in Luleå. The 60 seats were all but taken
and the active audience asked many questions.
Tobias Thyberg at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ Russia
Group spoke about how Sweden manages its relations with its
eastern neighbour. Vladislav Savic, former Moscow correspondent at Sveriges Radio gave his view on the country’s development over the past years and Kristina Zetterström at the Prime
Minister’s Office spoke about the Swedish Presidency.
The evening event was organised in cooperation with Europa
Direkt Norrbotten.
250 000
copies of the newspaper se2009.eu
was distributed during the Presidency. 40 000 copies
were sent to Swedish schools and 20 000 copies to
embassies and other organisations abroad.
Visitors were also given a copy of the newspaper during the various communications activities.
750
roll-ups. That was how many examples were
produced for the exhibitions arranged by government
agencies and organisations to tell people that Sweden
is leading the EU. 200 roll-ups with different motifs
in Swedish and in English and 550 featuring only the
logotype were sent out to cooperation partners.
In the cities where the climate tent was used, there
were also special roll-ups with a climate message.
689 articles were published on the Swedish EU
Presidency website www.se2009.eu and in total 352
175 words were translated into English and 292 985
into French. The website had 1 106 752 visitors during
the six months in the Presidency driving seat, which is
more than any other Presidency website, according to
statistics presented by the French Presidency.
Opening ceremony at Skansen
On 1 July, Fredrik Reinfeldt welcomed a
large audience at Skansen. The King and
Queen, ministers, EU Commissioners,
PHOTO: GUNNAR SEIJBOLD/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
tourists and singing enthusiasts were all
present in front of the Solliden stage.
In his speech, the Prime Minister emphasised that Sweden had
become a natural part of the cooperation that formed the basis for
peace, development and prosperity in a Europe so often characterised by the opposite.
The Prime Minister also stated that the greatest challenge for
the Swedish Presidency was to navigate and lead the EU through a
time of financial crisis and constitutional unrest.
A glittering array of artists performed in the summer evening,
including the opera singer Barbara Hendricks, Cirkus Cirkör, Sami
pop singer Sofia Jannok and Carl-Olof Berg’s dancers.
The ceremony was broadcast on SVT.
105 articles on the Presidency – the result of hard
work by the Young Reporters. They also managed to
get interviews with 15 Swedish ministers, three foreign
ministers, one police inspector, one lecturer and one
member of the Motor Transport Corps. In total, they recorded 43 minutes and 11 seconds of video interviews.
Produced by: The Communications Secretariat for Sweden’s EU
Presidency 2009
Prime Minister’s Office, SE 103 33 Stockholm
Text: Lars Tallert and Susanna Wasielewski Ahlfors, Global Reporting
Design: Johan Resele, Global Reporting
Cover photo: Gunnar Seijbold/Government Offices
Article number: SB KOM-09.2010.001
Regeringskansliet 08-405 10 00
PHOTO: MEDSTRÖMS BOKFÖRLAG
After years of preparation and six intensive months,
the Swedish Presidency of the EU 2009 is over. There
is a sense of emptiness. Focus is no longer on Sweden
and the eyes of the world are now on someone else.
The phones are silent and the email inbox empty. We
who have worked actively on this assignment are now
entering a condition known as PPD – Post Presidency
Depression. May it not last too long!
PHOTO: RICHARD KÅRSTRÖM
“We have made the EU
less dramatic”
Climate challenges in Umeå
Famous TV meteorologist and climate strategist Pär
Holmgren held a climate seminar in October at Umeå City
Library. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how
Europe can enhance its competitiveness while at the same
time addressing today’s climate and energy challenges. The
public was invited to the free event which was held in connection with the informal ministerial meeting on competitiveness on 14–16 October. The Swedish EU Presidency
organised the event in cooperation with Umeå City Library.
The library also hosted an exhibition and handed out information material on the Presidency.
PHOTO: PATRIK LEONARDSSON
The Presidency in Hyltebruk
A seminar on the theme of EU and energy was held in
autumn in Hyltebruk, Halland. Magnus Ahlqvist from the
Swedish EU Presidency and Kjell Andersson from the
Swedish Bioenergy Association held a lecture in front
of a small but interested audience. The participants asked many questions and it turned out that
Hyltebruk’s papermill works with a lot of issues that
concern renewable energy.
“It is important that EU issues and the Presidency are
discussed all over the country. If you visit a smaller town
with a lower number of participants, it has a greater impact
than it would have in a larger town or city”, says Magnus Ahlqvist.
The seminar was organised by Europa Direkt Halland and
Hylte municipality.
Increased confidence in the EU
during the Swedish Presidency
Women have increasingly positive attitudes
to the Swedish membership of the EU.
This is shown by a poll conducted by
Synovate on behalf of the Government
Offices in December 2009. An increasing
number of young people also believe that
the EU influences their daily lives and their
confidence in the EU has increased by 10 per
cent during the Swedish Presidency of the EU. In
2009, 56 per cent of those surveyed stated that they had very
great or great confidence in the EU as a forum for cooperation
between countries, compared to 46 per cent in 2008.
56%
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PHOTO: OLIVIA AF ROLÉN
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own experiences”, said Minister for
EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström in her
presentation of the project.
It was not only the Young Reporters who learnt from the experience.
The project has created ripples as they
returned to their schools and told their
friends about their experiences and
what they had learnt.
Hélène Edgren, international coordinator for Nacka Skolor and history
teacher, spoke about how they have
been working.
“This project involves Social Science, Swedish, History, English and
Spanish. We teachers have been
following the project, offering support and feedback.” When the Young
Reporters returned from their journalist assignments, they passed their
knowledge on to their friends.
“The Young Reporters project forged
a direct relationship between the EU
and school. Since as many as nine
pupils came from Nacka Gymnasium,
this has influenced the whole school,
in particular the International Programme. It has created an interest and
drawn attention to the opportunities
provided, such as reading what Spanish and English newspapers have written about the Swedish Presidency.”
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Young, hungry
and on their way
MINISTER FOR JUSTICE BEATRICE ASK WAS ASKED TOUGH QUESTIONS ON THE STOCKHOLM PROGRAMME AND HOW THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL
CAN BE STRENGTHENED BY THE YOUNG REPORTERS VICTORIA ENGSTRÖM AND THERESE SVENSSON FROM STOCKHOLM.
Journalists from Spain, France and Stockholm stood side-by-side
covered seminars and interviewed
ministers. Then she came back to her
with local journalists at the Competitiveness meeting in Umeå.
friends at Midgårdsskolan with all her
And in their midst was Sofia Sjögren from Midgårdsskolan in Umeå. newly-attained knowledge.
“So many of the decisions taken on
She is one of 46 Young Reporters covering the Swedish Presidency.
municipal level come from the EU.
I had no idea about that and nor did
The 46 upper secondary school
It felt really cool to be treated like a
anyone else. You realise the extent
pupils given the assignment wrote,
real reporter”, said Sofia Sjögren.
of the influence the EU has and how
photographed and filmed the inforNormally, Sofia attends the Arena
important it is to be aware of what is
mal ministerial meetings and other
Programme at Midgårdsskolan in
going on in the EU.”
major events taking place in Sweden
Umeå.
this autumn – on the same terms as
”Being a Young Reporter is comThe Young Reporters primarily covall the other journalists. They have
pletely different from anything you
ered the eleven informal ministerial
also conducted public interviews,
experience in school. Here, you really
meetings taking place in Umeå, Åre,
webcast on the Presidency website.
gained insight into how the EU works
Stockholm, Jönköping, Göteborg,
”It was really interesting. We were
in practice.”
Växjö and Malmö. They also covered
together with all the other journalists.
Sofia interviewed demonstrators,
the other activities organised during
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the Presidency taking place in their
home counties, such as the opening
ceremony in Stockholm on 1 July,
the Europe Week in Jönköping on
6-12 July and the Göteborg Book Fair
on 24–27 September.
Here, you really
gained insight
into how the
EU works in
practice.
The assignment given the pupils
was begun in May, when the young
people made their way to Stockholm
and the Government Offices for a
two-day kickoff. The aim was to
learn more about the Swedish EU
Presidency and to prepare for the
autumn’s assignment.
During their visit to Stockholm they
also got to meet Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström and Minister
for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.
“To encourage a dialogue on how the
EU influences people’s daily lives is
an important element of the Presidency communication. These young
people contribute to this work. Young
people write for young people, and
the idea is that the pupils will view
the meetings from their own perspective and write articles based on their
The Young Reporters from Nacka
concluded the project by holding a
presentation in front of all pupils
attending the International Program.
This created an exciting discussion
on what the EU means to Sweden –
and what the Swedish EU Presidency
has meant.
Two of the reporters, Johannes Rydinger and Simone Stenis Perron have
only had positive experiences.
“Being a Young Reporter was not
at all what we expected it to be”, they
said.
“We have met loads of politicians
from all over Europe and they have
all been relaxed, friendly people who
have done their very best to accommodate us and answer our questions,” said
Johannes and Simóne.
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PHOTO: GUNNAR SEIJBOLD/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
PHOTO: TRACY MITCHELL-BJÖRKMAN
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THE PRESIDENCY STAND AND ACTIVITES ON THE EUROPA STAGE DREW A GREAT DEAL OF ATTENTION FROM VISITORS TO THE GÖTEBORG BOOK FAIR.
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ADVENTURER RENATA CHLUMSKA AND MINISTER FOR EU AFFAIRS CECILIA MALMSTRÖM DID MORE THAN JUST FRY HERRING
IN RUNE KALF-HANSEN’S KITCHEN. THEY ALSO SPOKE ABOUT HOW TO MAKE A PROJECT SUCCESSFUL.
Discussions on the EU attracted book lovers
Politics and cooperation on the menu
“I visit the Göteborg Book Fair
EU policy and cooking. Those were
the main ingredients in the Live
Food activities taking place at
Kulturhuset in Stockholm.
Four fully-booked cooking evenings
were held in front of an audience.
The first guests to grace the kitchen were Minister for EU Affairs
Cecilia Malmström and adventurer
Renata Chlumska and the theme
was Baltic Sea cooperation.
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almost every year. During the
Presidency it was extra important for me to take the chance
and talk about our priorities on
the cultural arena”, said Minis-
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ter for Culture Lena Adelsohn
Liljeroth after her participation
UNGA
current affairs, Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström took part in
a discussion with her colleague Diego
López Garrido and former Member
of the European Parliament Barbara
Dührkop about the challenges of
holding a Presidency.
Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth was interviewed by
Young Reporters and spoke about
the EU’s cultural policy.
“The Book Fair is a great opportunity to speak about the Swedish proposal for the promotion of a creative
generation, a proposal which was
later adopted at the Council meeting
in Brussels” said Minister for Culture
Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.
To stimulate reading and studies
of foreign languages is a common
concern for all the EU’s culture
ministers.
Ján Figel’, Commissioner for
Education, Training, Culture and
Youth spoke about how the EU can
improve the opportunities for further training for Europe’s teachers.
Member of the European Parliament
Cecilia Wikström was interviewed
by the Young Reporters and she
spoke about education and life-long
at the Göteborg Book Fair in
Göteborg in September.
On 24–27 September the Nordic
countries’ largest book fair was visited by almost 100 000 people. Focus
was on Spain, not only at the fair but
also as the next country to hold the
EU Presidency.
The Swedish Presidency was
present with its own stand, neighbouring the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Together they arranged activities on
their own stage – the Europa Stage –
with a broad programme for teachers, pupils and the public.
On the debate stage, which was
the Book Fair’s Friday stage for
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learning - values that form the basis
for a future Europe.
European Commissioner Margot
Wallström was also interviewed by
the Young Reporters and took part
of a discussion with climate professor Christian Azar on the EU and
climate change. She also talked to
pupils from Kungsbacka about “Keep
the Planet Alive” – a drawing competition for children on the theme
of climate change. The competition
was introduced in interviews with
climate change experts from civil
society and researchers from the
world of academia.
Participants also number several
researchers, MEP’s, translators, authors and representatives of voluntary organisations.
“The days here have been successful. There was great interest in
the conference. People asked what
it involves for Sweden to be holding the EU Presidency, and teachers
want material to put up in their
classrooms”, said Camilla Lindquist,
Project Manager responsible for
the participation of the Swedish
Presidency.
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The importance of cooperation was
the topic of discussion at the first
Live Food evening.
Renata Chlumska spoke about
how she organises an adventure
project in order to reach her goal
and Cecilia Malmström made comparisons with the Baltic Sea strategy
which is also about working towards
a common goal. Rune Kalf-Hansen
who led the discussion asked Cecilia
Malmström to name three good
things achieved by the EU:
“A common European agreement
on the climate, the unification of
Europe and the opportunity to
travel, study and work abroad without much red tape are all results of
the European cooperation.”
YOUNG
The objective of Live Food has been
to raise the public’s interest in EU
issues in an accessible and relaxed
way. They succeeded in this, especially during the first evening, says
Rune Kalf-Hansen.
“I think that the audience experienced the same thing I did and
realised that maybe this whole EU
thing is a good thing. I myself am
rather critical towards the EU and
its bureaucracy but as we spoke in a
concrete way about the issues, such
as what we really want to achieve
with the Baltic Sea strategy and how,
I became more positive.”
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“I think that it may be easier for an
audience to understand the big issues
that Cecilia Malmström deals with
when they realise that they are the
same issues that I in my role as chef
have to deal with”, says Chef Rune
Kalf-Hansen. “I mean, when I want
to compose a good sea food meal
with good produce, then I think ‘we
do not have much cod in the Baltic
Sea but we have a lot of herring,
so of course we should eat herring.’
The same issue is being discussed
in the fisheries policy: how should
we act and how do we bring people
on board?”
Visitors to Kulturhuset were treated
to herring with pickled gherkin and
home-made cream cheese as a sample
of the Baltic Sea countries’ common
food culture. Renata Chlumska and
Cecilia Malmström were then given
the task to cook an organic Baltic Sea
dish each in ten minutes. Their
efforts resulted in a dish of herring
and fried vegetables with plums,
which was approved by the chef.
Having a minister visiting the kitchen
was a successful concept, says Rune
Kalf-Hansen and he is pleased with
Cecilia Malmström’s contribution.
“She was very open and contributed to an exciting discussion. Her
commitment is very tangible and I
think that the audience felt that too.
It makes it easier to be positive to
what she actually says.”
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PHOTO: MAJ-BRITT NILSSON/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
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Pupils took a stance on
the climate issue
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Am I as an individual responsible for the issue of climate change,
or is it others who must act? That was one of the questions upper
The climate badge
“Abolish VAT on organic bananas!” was
the personal message on artist Lasse
Åberg’s badge. Making your own climate
badge was popular among visitors to the
Presidency’s touring climate tent.
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SmartFclimate
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YOUNG VISITORS IN UMEÅ SPEAK ABOUT EU AND THE CLIMATE
Climate change was one of the Swedish Presidency’s top prior-
ity issues. One of the initiatives was a touring climate exhibition
where visitors were able to write down their best climate tips. Mes-
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sages included: “use public transport, cycle and walk more”.
PHOTO: HELENA LOMBRINK/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
In the Presidency exhibition tent,
built like an igloo, visitors could post
their climate lists on a notice board,
make their own climate badges with a
photo and a personal climate message.
The notice board was quickly filled
with lists on what you can do to
reduce your impact on the climate,
such as eating less meat, using a
textile bag when you go shopping or
eating locally produced food that is
in season. The tent also hosted two
exhibitions on the Swedish Presidency and on the EU’s climate goals.
The idea behind the touring climate
tent was for the public to have an
opportunity to get in touch with
the Presidency in the cities hosting
ministerial meetings.
“It has been important to the
Presidency to let people present
and discuss their views”, says Maja
Nilsson with the Communication
Secretariat for the Swedish EU Presidency 2009.
“Climate change is an issue that affects lots of people and focusing on it
has been a good way of encouraging
a dialogue on the EU.”
PHOTO: CARL-JOHAN FRIMAN/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
Climate lists
Remove the stand-by buttons on your
TV and stereo, build more wind turbines
in Sweden and more solar power stations in desert areas and use alternative
fuel for your car. These are some of the
suggestions made by one of the visitors
to the Presidency’s climate tent. The
public was given the opportunity to
write climate lists with three to five suggestions on how to counteract climate
change. Hundreds of people in seven
cities all over the country took the
chance to write their own lists.
Green Light in Malmö
At the same time as the UN
Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen kicked off in December, the city of Malmö staged the
event ‘Green Light’. A number of
activities and disussions on the
theme of the climate took place
over a period of two days. The
Swedish Presidency was coorganisers of the event. Visitors
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could meet women chopping wood
on Stortorget, listen to concerts,
watch films and art installations
and meet Cecilia Malmström. The
Minister for EU Affairs visited the
exhibition ‘The climate friendly
home’ and answered tricky questions posed by the people of
Malmö and the Young Reporters,
who covered the activities.
secondary pupils were asked at a ‘climate day’ held in Malmö.
In a fictive future, where the climate
has grown warmer and living conditions have changed, a trial is being
held. The charge is crimes against
humanity.
This was the scenario waiting
for the upper secondary pupils as
they arrived at Garage - a library in
Malmö. They soon realised that they
were the ones facing charges.
This was a play taking the form of
a climate trial, with the prosecutor
trying to prove that the individual
is to be blamed, while the defence
argued that it is not the individual’s
responsibility.
At the conclusion of the play,
participants were asked to decide the
outcome of the trial by positioning
themselves on each side of the room,
depending on their view.
Soha Kadhim, attending the technology programme at the Design & Construction College found it interesting to
find out the views of other pupils.
“The trial was very entertaining,
the actors tried to be serious, but
their arguments were not very convincing. I believe that most pupils
had already made up their minds
before the trial and many were on
the side of the innocents.”
Having made their decisions, the
young people were divided into
smaller groups and were then
given the chance to speak about the
climate with various actors, from
voluntary organisations and political representatives like SIDA (The
Swedish Development Cooperation
Agency) and the European Commission to an architecture agency. These
conversations were rated very highly
by the pupils, said Karl Alfredson
who represented the Göteborg
Region Association of Local Authorities, co-organisers of the event
together with Europa Direkt Malmö,
the city of Malmö, the Presidency
and SIDA.
These days, I
always take the
bicycle to school.
Before, I always
used to take
the bus.
“They answered the pupils’ questions but also gave them the chance
to view the climate issue from a different perspective. Many people think
about the environment when you talk
about the climate but it is about so
much more, as was demonstrated by
the architect who designs climatefriendly houses.
The session concluded with a value
exercise where the groups were told
to rank who had the best opportunity to influence climate change by
using an audience response system in
order to clearly visualise everybody’s
opinions. But the climate discussions
did not end there. An important
part of the educational process was
to continue the discussions in the
classrooms, together with the teachers present at the climate day.
A ‘climate box’ - an experiencebased information kit, will be offered to schools all over the country.
Soha Kadhim thought that the
event was a good way of making
students feel involved and that it was
exciting throughout.
“The best bit was meeting the
different representatives and being
able to ask them questions. It was
interesting to hear about the work
the European Commission does with
trade emissions.”
To Soha Kadhim, the climate day
also influenced the way she behaves.
“These days, I always take the bicycle to school. Before, I always used to
take the bus.”
PHOTO: HELENA LOMBRINK/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
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GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY OF CAUSING CLIMATE CHANGE? THAT WAS WHAT THE MALMÖ PUPILS HAD TO DECIDE.
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PHOTO: GUNNAR SEIJBOLD/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
PHOTO: GUNNAR SEIJBOLD/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
make the business sector flourish.
First up were journalists and the
public, who walked around the
Skeppsbron below the Royal Palace
in Stockholm and went on board
three ships berthed there for the
day: the brig Tre Kronor, Swedish
Environmental Research Institute’s
research ship Sunbeam and Swedish
Coast Guard’s environmental protection vessel KBV 010.
To us, this is a
unique opportunity to support
the Baltic Sea
debate.
High-level Baltic Sea cooperation
The delegates at the EU’s Baltic
Sea Conference listened eagerly when Sam Ekstrand from
the Swedish Environmental
Research Institute spoke about
how simple technology can be
with them when they conclude the
negotiations on the strategy”, said
Sam Ekstrand.
The Swedish Environmental
Research Institute was one of the
participants when the Presidency
invited all sectors of society on 17
September: the public, Swedish
Directors-Generals, Secretary Generals, executives and EU ministers
responsible for EU issues.
The event was the high point of
a series of activities with the aim of
communicating the EU’s Baltic Sea
strategy – a macro regional platform
to address environment issues and
PHOTO: GUNNAR SEIJBOLD/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
used to clean up the Baltic Sea.
The Presidency’s Baltic Sea Day
gave ministers and Commissioners the chance to meet people
working with making the Baltic
Sea region into a better place.
“Being able to meet the EU ministers in small groups and being given
the chance to speak to them was
fantastic. They were very interested
in our technology to reduce agricultural emissions of phosphorus into
the Baltic Sea and I hope that this
knowledge is something they take
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MAGNUS KARLSSON AT THE SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ILV) SHOWED VISITORS TO
THE BRIG TRE KRONOR THAT IN SOME AREAS THE STATE OF THE BALTIC SEABED HAS IMPROVED.
The Presidency has worked in the
same spirit. Through a number of
activities, decision-makers, actors
and the public have been given the
chance to meet and exchange experiences and views.
So when the meeting delegates
came, there was no traditional cocktail, but they were instead taken on a
tour between ladders and gangways to
different stations. Here, ministers had
the opportunity to meet representatives from the Coastguard, the Nordic
Council of Ministers, the Federation
of Swedish Farmers (LRF) and the
A Baltic Sea week
On the week preceding the actual Baltic Sea Day, 17 September, the Presidency supported and encouraged a number of activities.
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and how to create green maritime transport routes.
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the Baltic Sea region funded by the EU.
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economic clusters can help strengthen the economic development in the
Baltic Sea.
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Economic and Regional Growth and the Presidency arranged a seminar
with 100 participants from Swedish organisations, government agencies
and businesses working with Baltic Sea issues called ”How is Sweden to
implement the Baltic Sea Strategy?”
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Universeum in Göteborg.
PHOTO: GUNNAR SEIJBOLD/GOVERNMENT OFFICES
SAM EKSTRAND OF THE SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE TELLS PHILIPE MAYSTADT FROM THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER PAWEL SAMECKI AND MINISTER FOR EU AFFAIRS CECILIA MALMSTRÖM ABOUT HOW PELLETS CAN REDUCE NITROGEN LEACHING FROM AGRICULTURAL LAND.
Later on, some 40 Swedish decisionmakers from government agencies,
civil society and the private sector,
were invited to a conversation on
Baltic Sea cooperation onboard the
brig Tre kronor
There was a lively discussion touching on most things from port security
to cod fishing. Allison Robertshaw,
responsible for climate issues at
Zennströms Philantropies, run by the
entrepreneur Niklas Zennström, was
one of the panellists.
“To us, this is a unique opportunity
to support the Baltic Sea debate”, Ms
Robertshaw said. “We feel that we all
have an important role to play. We
can bring together people, support individual organisations and influence
decision-makers.
t 5IF4UPDLIPMN$JUZ5IFBUSF
staged the play “Torsk i soppan”
(“Cod soup”).
In addition to all activities, articles
on the Baltic Sea Strategy were published on the Presidency website.
Swedish Environmental Research
Institute, who all gave suggestions
for solutions to the challenges they
are facing in their daily work.
THOMAS FAGÖ AT THE SWEDISH COAST
GUARD’S ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION VESSEL KBV 010.
11
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Swedish Presidency tour
‘Superpower for six months’. That was the name of the seminar
series on the Swedish EU Presidency taking place in six towns
and cities all over Sweden. First up was Karlstad, where a large
PHOTO: JULIA BJÖRNE/GLOBAL REPORTING
We can not take
democracy for granted
9 november marks two important
turning points in Europe´s history: the fall of the Berlin Wall and
the Kristallnacht in 1938. To
commemorate the anniversary, a
day about freedom of expression,
rights, courage and the state of
democracy today was arranged in
Stockholm.
Stockholm City Theatre opened its
doors to the public at 12 o’clock
with the seminar “Stand up for your
rights”. Upper secondary school
pupils filled the seats in front of the
small stage. A slideshow on human
rights was interspersed with stories
from today and a witness account
by Kurt Gordan who lived through
Kristallnacht in Berlin, 71 years ago.
It is especially important to share
your experiences when there are
young people in the audience, Kurt
Gordan feels:
“Many young people have little
knowledge about the political events
12
in Europe that took place 70 years
ago. We should look at history and
understand that this is how it started
and this is what can happen.”
Kurt Gordan sees similar things
happening in Sweden today, with the
Sweden Democrats, Neo Nazis and
prejudice against immigrants. And
with large flows of refugees heading for Europe in the future, he sees
the risk of various groups feeling
threatened.
“I do not think people quite
understand how fragile democracy
is and that you have to defend it. I
hope that I have been able to convey
an image of how quickly things can
change. 70 years ago, I reacted to the
fact that people did not seem to take
it seriously.”
Just about all seminars and discussions organised on 9 November were
fully booked. The event was organised by Stockholm City Theatre in
collaboration with the Swedish EU
Presidency, the Foundation Natur
& Kultur and the Living History Forum. One of the seminars was on the
fall of the Berlin Wall, and it took the
audience back to the events 20 years
ago. Walburga Habsburg Douglas,
member of the Riksdag for the Moderate Party, was one of five people on
the panel. She helped organise the
picnic taking place on the border
between Hungary and Austria in the
summer of 1989, when the barbed
wire between the countries was cut.
“That was the first time the guards
said that they would not shoot those
who crossed the border”, said Ms
Habsburg Douglas during the seminar. That was when people realised
that the eastern bloc no longer held
together. But many countries in the
west expressed concern over the
rapid developments after the fall
of the wall and especially so over
German Chancellor Helmuth Kohl’s
efforts to reunite Germany.
In addition to the seminars, a film
festival was organised and three plays
were also staged at the City Theatre.
The evening’s closing ceremony
included song, dance, theatre, a slide
show and speeches all on the theme
of “We are celebrating the fall of the
Berlin Wall”.
audience of both young and old asked many questions during the
evening seminar.
The seminar series was organised by
the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI), in collaboration with
the Swedish Institute for European
Policy Studies (SIEPS) and the Swedish EU Presidency. The aim was to
invite the interested public to discuss
the Swedish Presidency. Issues have
included Sweden’s role in the EU, climate change, the eastern partnership
and the EU’s common foreign and
security policy. The panel included
knowledgeable people from UI,
SIEPS, the Government Offices and
local universities.
Hans Lödén, Reader in Political
Science at Karlstad University helped
organise the evening seminar held in
Karlstad. In his opinion, the seminar
was a great success with many questions and discussions between the
panel and the interested audience.
“It is important to show people that
the EU is part of our daily lives. To arrange seminars such as this all around
the country and not just in Stockholm
is an important way to raise people’s
awareness of how the EU works.”
It is important to
show people that
the EU is part of
our daily lives.
Hans Lödén’s colleagues Lee Miles
and Magnus Lindh also presented current research on how a Swedish region
(Värmland) acts in the EU compared
to neighbouring regions in Norway
and Finland. The research clearly
showed that Finns are way ahead of us
when it comes to influencing the EU’s
PHOTO: GEIJER AMELIE / TOVE GREWIN
KURT GORDAN WANTED TO TELL PEOPLE
ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF REACTING
WHEN DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE ARE
THREATENED. THIS DOES NOT JUST APPLY
TO NAZI GERMANY OF 70 YEARS AGO, BUT
IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT TODAY.
decisions and policies and not just
reacting afterwards.
“Regional actors must be made to
understand that a decision reached
in 2009 is the result of a process initiated in 2003. If you have views on
for example the phasing-out of light
bulbs, then you should have reacted
earlier, not in 2009.”
In addition to the evening seminar,
there was a shorter lunch seminar for
invited representatives from local authorities, schools, municipalities and
the County Administrative Board.
Adam Egerlid, administrative
officer at the Värmland County Administrative Board, was one of those
attending the seminar and he found
it interesting to gain an insight into
the Presidency’s agenda.
“I think that it is difficult to make
people feel that the EU concerns
them and to find a level of information suitable for all audiences. But I
appreciate the initiative and what I
found useful above all is the insight
into how Sweden thinks and the
probability of getting things done
during the Presidency.”
‘Superpower for six months’
The seminars were held in the
following cities:
Karlstad, 25 August
Stockholm, 3 September
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Umeå, 7 October
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MANY QUESTIONS ON THE
EU AND SWEDEN’S ROLE
FILLED THE ROOM DURING
THE EVENING SEMINAR AT
KARLSTAD UNIVERSITY.
13
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was food and the climate.
14
The combination
of food and EU
information was
very successful
“When the Minister of Agriculture comes - who is a local boy - his
presence alone encourages people to
come and this creates an interest in
the EU. Many also stopped by the EU
table to talk as they came to sample
The Presidency was represented at the opening of the
Nolia Trade Fair, the largest annual trade fair in Norrland, in Umeå, in August. Minister for Enterprise and
Energy Maud Olofsson who hosted the city’s upcoming
ministerial meeting, took the opportunity to visit the
Presidency stand.
“The tent was full of people who wanted to listen
to Maud and ask questions”, said Maj-Britt Nilsson,
information officer at the Communications Secretariat
for Sweden’s EU Presidency 2009. “Maud is from Robertsfors so Umeå is on her home turf.” The Presidency
stand was designed as an editorial office with the Young
Reporters on site to cover the fair and interview the
Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Communications.
Maud Olofsson also visited the Presidency tent
outside the trade fair. Visitors to the tent received
information about the Swedish Presidency and about
the EU’s climate targets.
They were also able to make their own personal
climate badges and write down their best tips for combating climate change, which were then posted on the
tent’s notice board.
Approximately 700 people visited the Presidency stand
and tent over the four days that the Presidency was on-site.
When the time came for the ministerial meeting, local food producers
arranged a harvest market for the
public, where food such as different types of honey, potatoes,
carrots, muesli from Småland and
birch sap was sold. The Presidency
information tent was on-site and
three Young Reporters covered the
meeting.
The people of Malmö got to hear all
about eGovernment
eGovernment is about using new technology to facilitate contact
between authorities, citizens and companies. Mats Odell spoke
about how this is to be achieved when he met the public at Malmö
City Library in connection with the informal ministerial meeting on
eGovernment in November. Young Reporters were present and took
the opportunity to interview Mats Odell.
The winners of the eGovernment Awards were declared in connection with the meeting. The aim of the competition was to show what
eGovernment can achieve.
259 contributions from 31 countries had been submitted and Minister for Local Government and Financial Markets Mats Odell thought
that “the projects demonstrated commitment and cooperation from
all EU Member States”.
In addition to the winners of all four categories, there was also an
award voted by the public. The winner was SMS INFO from Turkey – a
system for sending out information on court proceedings via text message. When Young Reporters interviewed Ali Kaya, he was very proud.
“It feels especially good to have been awarded the people’s prize.
It proves that it is a good service”, said Ali Kaya.
Lecture on competitiveness for Umeå students
SMÅLAND’S ‘NATIONAL DISH’: ISTERBAND SAUSAGE WITH POTATOES IN WHITE SAUCE AND LINGONBERRY
JAM WAS GIVEN THE THUMBS UP BY ESKIL ERLANDSSON WHEN HE WAS TREATED TO IT BY STEN JANÉR AT
REGIONAL MATKULTUR SMÅLAND
PHOTO: SAMUEL BENGTSSON
Minister of Agriculture Eskil Erlandsson was on-site, speaking from
Speakers Corner in central Växjö.
“With the help of people’s creativity, people’s dreams, as well as unique
products and flavours, Sweden can
become Europe’s new culinary nation”, said Eskil Erlandsson.
He appointed Småland’s ‘national’
dish, which he took the opportunity
to sample – isterband sausage with
potatoes in white sauce and lingonberry jam. For dessert Swedish
cheesecake with cream and raspberry
jam was served.
It was all made with locally produced, organic produce, of course.
Sten Janér, Coordinator for
Regional Matkultur Småland, was
responsible for the tasting.
“The combination of food and EU
information was very successful”, he
said.
Maud Olofsson visited Nolia Trade Fair
PHOTO: HANS RUNESSON
On 9 May, on Europe Day, Stortorget in Växjö was teeming with life.
The Swedish EU Presidency, Europa
Direkt and the Federation of Swedish
Farmers (LRF) informed people about
the EU and treated them to a Swedish
specialty: ‘kalvdans’, (a dessert made
from cow’s colostrum). People gave
climate tips and a film was shown in
which Minister for Agriculture Eskil
Erlandsson gave his view on what
people can do to reduce their impact
on the climate.
On 14 August new activities
were held. More than 1 000 people
gathered on Storgatan in the radiant
sunshine to taste isterband sausage,
Swedish cheesecake, potatoes in
white sauce, cream and other local delicacies but also to be given information
about the Swedish EU Presidency.
the food.”
On 8 September, a week before
the ministerial meeting, the Swedish
Presidency was on-site again. At the
city library, a theme evening was arranged. Scientist Christel Cederberg
held a lecture on food and climate
and cook book author Maja Söderberg spoke about her interest and
treated listeners to samples. There
was also an exhibition about the EU
Presidency in the library.
PHOTO: GUNNAR SEIJBOLD/REGERINGSKANSLIET
On 13-15 September the EU agriculture and fisheries ministers
IN B R I E F
PHOTO: GUNNAR SEIJBOLD/REGERINGSKANSLIET
Food and climate attracted
people in Växjö
An eco-efficient economy, future innovations and enterprise. Those were
the topics of discussion when the people of Umeå were given the opportunity to meet Maud Olofsson and European Commissioner Günter Verheugen
during their visit to Umeå University on 15 October. The meeting was held
in connection with the informal ministerial meeting on competitiveness
held in Umeå. Students, entrepreneurs and other visitors got the chance
to ask questions and hear more about what had just been discussed at the
ministerial meeting.
15
Activities around the country
During the Swedish Presidency of the EU between
1 July – 31 December 2009, the Presidency arranged a
number of activities for the public and civil society.
The aim was to stimulate a dialogue, increase the knowledge of the Government’s EU work and to show the
connection between the EU and people’s daily lives.
This newspaper highlights some of the activities
that took place.
LULEÅ
The Young Reporters covered the informal meeting of Environment and Energy ministers in July.
Read more about the Young Reporters on page 4.
ÅRE
The Swedish Institute of International Affairs
organised seminars on the Presidency for
local politicians and the interested public.
Read more on page 13.
The Young Reporters
covered the opening
ceremony of the KosterIBWFU/BUJPOBM1BSL
Sweden’s first marine
national park.
Read more about the
Young Reporters on
page 4.
The relationship
between the EU and
UMEÅ Russia was the theme
of a seminar held at
Kulturhuset.
More on this on page 3.
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held a lecture on the climate at
the City Library.
Read more on page 3.
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Minister for EU Affairs
Cecilia Malmström
discussed the Presidency
with her Spanish counterpart Diego López Garrido
at the Europa stage at the
Göteborg Book Fair.
More on this on page 6.
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Minister for EU Affairs
Cecilia Malmström spoke
about the EU and cooked
Baltic Sea food together
with adventurer Renata
Chlumska. Read more
about this on page 7.
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Minister for Local Government
and Financial Markets Mats Odell
spoke to the people of Malmö
about eGovernment.
More on this on page 15.
Region Blekinge organised a
seminar on marititime safety.
Read more about the Baltic Sea
week on page 11.
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Wall was commemorated with a theme
day on freedom of expression, courage
and the state of democracy today.
Read more about his on page 12.
Minister for Agriculture Eskil Erlandsson spoke about Sweden as a culinary
nation and sampled Småland’s
‘national’ dish, isterband sausage
with potatoes in white sauce.
Read more about this on page 14.