EU Presidency will make attention to Barents
The Swedish EU Presidency later this year will draw attention to the importance of the Barents cooperation, says a senior adviser in the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sweden will take over the Presidency of the European Union from July 1st for the following six months. On October 1st Sweden also takes over the Chair of the Barents Euro Arctic Council from Russia for the following two year.
- Our ambition is to use the EU Presidency to draw attention to Barents, says Senior Adviser Per Wallèn, responsible for the Barents cooperation in the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, interviewed by the newspaper Norrbottens-Kuriren.
The preparatory work for the EU Presidency is currently under way within the Swedish Government and the ministries.
Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt will arrive in Murmansk on October 15th to meet with his colleges from the other Barents countries, Jonas Gahr Støre (Norway), Alexander Stubb (Finland) and Sergey Lavrov (Russia). Russia holds the Chair of the Barents Council until Sweden takes over in Murmansk.
