Sweden takes over European Union presidency

October 8th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - The European Union (EU) has condemned a suicide car bomb attack that killed 17 people outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul Thursday. "The presidency is appalled by this atrocious form of terrorism, taking place in the close vicinity of a diplomatic mission which enjoys protection under international law," Sweden, which holds the presidency of the EU, said in a statement.

October 6th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Stating that it "was utterly unacceptable" that a UN agency had been made a terror target, the European Union has asked Pakistan to "swiftly apprehend" those behind the suicide bombing at the World Food Programme (WFP) office in Islamabad. Strongly condemning the suicide bombing of the WFP headquarters in the Pakistani capital Tuesday, an EU presidency statement called on the government of Pakistan to take all necessary steps to "swiftly apprehend the culprits behind this heinous crime and bring them to justice", EuAsiaNews reported.

October 2nd, 2009 Sweden calls for more carbon taxesGOTEBORG, Sweden — Sweden urged other European nations on Friday to follow its lead in linking new taxes to greenhouse gas emissions as governments seek additional sources of income in the wake of the financial crisis. Denmark, Finland and Slovenia already have taxes on household carbon emissions that can add costs to heating and electricity use.

September 25th, 2009 EU calls for urgency at climate talks in BangkokSTOCKHOLM — The European Union is urging wealthy and developing countries to bring more "urgency and ambition" to climate talks in Thailand next week. The Bangkok meeting starting Monday is the penultimate negotiating session before a pivotal U.N.

September 4th, 2009 Special EU summit called ahead of G20 talks in USSTOCKHOLM — Sweden has called for an extra meeting of European Union leaders to discuss the global financial crisis ahead of a summit of Group of 20 nations in the U.S. later this month.

August 4th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - The European Union (EU) is to be officially represented by Sweden as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sworn in for a second term as the president of Iran, the Swedish foreign ministry said Tuesday. According to Swedish government statement, Stockholm's ambassador to Iran, Magnus Wernstedt, will participate in Wednesday's ceremony in Tehran as representative of the current EU council presidency.

July 13th, 2009 South Korea: Conclusion of FTA with EU nearSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the European Union are ready to announce the conclusion of their free trade talks, President Lee Myung-bak said ahead of a meeting Monday with Sweden, the current chair of the rotating EU presidency. "I think we can declare the conclusion of negotiations," Lee told South Koreans in a nationwide radio address broadcast Monday.

July 13th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - North Korea must give up its controversial nuclear programme, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Monday after talks with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Lee said he supported sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council after North Korea on May 25 conducted an underground test of a nuclear device, which raised tensions in the region.

July 9th, 2009 L'AQUILA - Russia has refused to back a target of an 80 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 proposed by the Group of Eight (G8) countries, a Kremlin aide said Wednesday after the first day of the G8 summit here. At a news conference earlier in the day, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the world's richest nations should cut their emissions by 80 percent by the middle of the century.

July 1st, 2009 STOCKHOLM - Iran, climate talks, global economic crisis and the unexpected resignation of Croatia's Prime Minister Ivo Sanader were topics occupying diplomatic circles Wednesday, as Sweden took over the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU). The EU is closely following events in Iran but has no immediate plans to recall diplomats from Tehran, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said.

June 26th, 2009 BRUSSELS - An India-European Union (EU) Troika ministerial meeting will be held in the Czech capital of Prague Monday, a statement by the 27-nation grouping said here Friday. The meeting will address the India-EU relations and the cooperation between the two sides in specific areas such as a free trade agreement, a maritime agreement, energy and the strengthening of political dialogue in the fields of human rights and the fight against terrorism.

May 11th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - Over 5,100 confirmed cases of the influenza A(H1N1) have now been reported worldwide, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said Monday. With 2,532 cases, the United States alone accounted for almost half the global number of cases, followed by Mexico on 2,062 cases and 284 cases in Canada, the pan-European agency's updated figures indicated.

April 28th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt Tuesday said he cancelled the trip he had planned to take to Sri Lanka along with his British and French counterparts after Colombo said it would not receive him. Writing on his blog, Bildt said Sri Lanka had 'not given any reason' for not accepting him.

April 28th, 2009 Swedish foreign minister denied entry to Sri LankaSTOCKHOLM — Sweden recalled its top diplomat in Sri Lanka on Tuesday after Foreign Minister Carl Bildt was blocked from joining a European delegation pressing for a cease-fire between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels. Bildt had planned to visit Sri Lanka this week with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French counterpart Bernard Kouchner to appeal for an immediate cease-fire and to call for peace talks to end the quarter-century civil war.

January 1st, 2009 STOCKHOLM - The foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, France and Sweden are to visit the Middle East Sunday amid the ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas, the Swedish foreign ministry said Friday. Czech Foreign Minister Karl Schwarzenberg, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Sweden's Carl Bildt are due to begin their visit Sunday in Cairo, a foreign ministry statement said.