Swedish EU presidency targets finance and climate

The Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has set out Sweden’s plans for the next six months as holder of the rotating presidency of the EU. Addressing the first session of the new Parliament in Strasbourg Reinfeldt put the financial crisis and climate change at the top the list of priorities. He said they can, and must, be tackled together.

“More than half of the measures which are needed to avoid exceeding the two-degree target can be achieved and adopted on the basis of technology we already have at our disposal,” Reinfeldt said. “Above and beyond that, we are seeing many positive spin-off effects when we combat climate-change which stimulate measures by themselves. When we consume less energy we save money and we improve public finances at the same time as making more resources available to households.”

Reinfeldt said Sweden’s presidency comes during ‘an era of change.’ He described the Stockholm Programme, intended to beef up justice and security in the EU, but at the same time protect the rights of individual citizens. And he stressed the need for the European Union to become a stronger voice on the global stage.