VZCZCXRO9533
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSM #0149/01 0631640
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 041640Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4187
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0097
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STOCKHOLM 000149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR EU AF TU SW
SUBJECT: SWEDEN'S EU MINISTER ON COOPERATING WITH U.S. ON 
CLIMATE, EU ENLARGEMENT, MIDDLE EAST AND AFGHANISTAN 
 
REF: A. STOCKHOLM 32 
     ¶B. 08 STOCKHOLM 792 
 
Classified By: CDA ROBERT SILVERMAN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Sweden's EU Minister Cecilia Malmstrom met 
Charge on March 3 to discuss Sweden's upcoming EU presidency. 
 On the Transatlantic Agenda, Malmstrom identified climate 
change, EU enlargement, Israeli-Palestinian talks and 
Afghanistan as being most important for cooperation with the 
USG.  She discussed EU enlargement issues at length, asking 
for U.S. support to keep other EU members states committed to 
Turkey's accession and for U.S. help on resolving the 
Macedonia name dispute issue.  Sweden wants former Finnish 
President Ahtisaari to mediate the Slovenia-Croatia border 
dispute so that Croatian accession can move forward under 
Sweden's presidency.  End Summary. 
 
Climate Change is Top Priority 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) On climate change, Malmstrom stated that Swedes were 
impressed with President Obama's personal leadership on the 
issue and the USG's outreach to China.  She stated that 
climate change remained the number one priority for Swedish 
Prime Minister Reinfeldt and would be the issue that received 
the most direct attention by the PM during the Swedish EU 
presidency.  Saying it had been "hard enough" to keep the EU 
united on a policy line before the financial crisis, she said 
real tension was developing now among the 27.  Sweden sees no 
contradiction between resolving the financial crisis and 
promoting climate-friendly technology and practices, she 
said, adding that not all member states agreed with this 
point of view. 
 
Sweden Willing to Help on Gaza 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Malmstrom said that the Prime Minister's office was 
watching U.S. actions with respect to Gaza very closely. 
Noting that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas 
recently had visited Sweden, she opined that there would be 
some possibility for reconciliation between the PA and Hamas, 
though she stated that Sweden understood the process would be 
a very difficult one.  Sweden recognized U.S. leadership on 
Gaza but stated that there may be areas where the EU could be 
of assistance.  Sweden wanted to be helpful, she said. 
 
Sweden to Remain in Afghanistan "for the Long Haul" 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) On Afghanistan, Malmstrom stated that the government 
paid close attention to the President's speech on Afghanistan 
and considers success there to be "very important." 
Expressing concern over the public reaction in Sweden in the 
event of significant Swedish casualties, she noted that the 
political opposition has become increasingly critical of 
government plans to increase both Sweden's military and 
foreign assistance presence.  She also expressed concern over 
a possible spring election.  In any event, Malmstrom 
reiterated the government's commitment to remain in 
Afghanistan for "the long haul." 
 
Eastern Partnership and Baltic Sea Strategy 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Malmstrom said that the Eastern Partnership (reftel) 
will be launched at the EU Summit on May 7 in Prague.  She 
stated that some of the six countries involved wanted to join 
the EU right away and did not see any need for intermediate 
steps.  Nonetheless, the differences between the six 
countries were significant and it would be important for the 
EU as a whole to forge distinct bilateral relations with each 
of the six capitals.  She assessed that Minsk would 
ultimately recognize the breakaway regions of South Ossetia 
and Abkhazia, "it is just a matter of when."  On the Baltic 
Sea Strategy, Malmstrom said she did not see a very direct 
role for U.S.-EU cooperation, though she said the success of 
the initiative would be in U.S. interest.  Sweden was anxious 
for a real agreement with "set milestones and a timetable, 
and not just fluff." 
 
Turkish EU Accession -- Need Washington's Help 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Malmstrom stated that cooperation with Washington on 
Turkey's EU accession would be very important.  The slow pace 
of success in implementing the Ankara protocol was causing 
"certain countries to say that it may be time to let Turkey 
 
STOCKHOLM 00000149  002 OF 002 
 
 
go," she stated, adding that such a decision would be a 
"catastrophe."  During its EU presidency, Sweden will work 
hard for "visible progress with Turkey," which may not be all 
that significant in terms of chapters concluded, but must be 
palpable for European publics.  Until now, she continued, the 
Turkish leadership has been very focused on internal matters 
and constitutional questions, but Sweden is encouraged that 
PM Erdogan has said he would re-focus on EU issues and 
recently appointed a new chief negotiator for EU accession, 
Egemen Bagis, who will visit Stockholm on March 18. 
 
Croatia's Accession -- Need Ahtisaari's Help? 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) On Croatia's accession, Malmstrom expressed Sweden's 
determination to see significant progress, "maybe not 
finalizing" its accession but working through problems 
quickly.  She stated that Sweden was concerned about 
unresolved border problems between Slovenia and Croatia, 
causing Ljubljana to block progress.  Malmstrom stated that 
the EU was trying to arrange for former Finnish President 
Ahtisaari to work as a mediator on the border issue. 
 
Other Problems: Irish Referendum, Macedonia, Serbia 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) On Ireland, Malmstrom noted that the timing of the 
planned EU referendum in October was "not an ideal situation" 
with the growing Irish economic downturn.  "With so many jobs 
being lost, and cars being re-possessed, we worry about the 
government's dropping popularity," she said.  Malmstrom said 
Sweden would try to be ready for any contingency.  On Serbia, 
Malmstrom said that if security forces are successful in 
arresting former Chief of Staff Ratko Mladic, then she would 
expect Belgrade to send in its application this summer. 
Malmstrom also stated that she expected an application from 
Albania in the near future, and possibly Iceland. 
 
¶9. (C) Malmstrom said that the presidential elections in 
Macedonia on March 22 would be "decisive for future relations 
with the EU."  She said member states were sending a strong 
message that there needed to be significantly less violence 
and better organization than during the violent 2006 
parliamentary polls.  With respect to the name issue, which 
Malmstrom termed a "childish" problem between Athens and 
Skopje, she said that she hoped strongly the U.S. and EU 
could work together on a resolution.  Macedonia is not ready 
to join the EU, but might be ready to start negotiations, she 
stated, an important development in such an unstable region. 
 
Sweden to Appoint Special Coordinators on EU Priorities 
------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) Malmstrom stated that the Swedish government will 
appoint special coordinators on five to six key issues for 
the EU presidency.  MFA State Secretary Frank Belfrage was 
most likely to be appointed special coordinator on 
enlargement.  (Note:  Belfrage headed up Sweden's own 
accession talks in the early 1990s and served as "enlargement 
czar" during his stint as MFA Director General for European 
Affairs when Sweden first held the EU presidency in 2001.) 
Lars-Erik Liljelund, who works directly for PM Reinfeldt, 
will be Sweden's special coordinator on Sweden's climate 
change issues.  Special coordinators for four other 
presidency priorities will be decided in coming weeks. 
 
Bio Note 
-------- 
 
¶11. (C) Bio Note: Malmstrom is an impressive young minister 
fully on top of her portfolio.  Educated at the Sorbonne and 
with a Ph.D. from Lund University, she is smart, quick and 
decisive; she speaks fluent English, French, Spanish and 
Swedish, and reasonable Italian and German.  She is a leading 
member of the Liberal Party, and was elected to the EU 
Parliament in the Liberal Party list (this party has staked 
out a relatively more hawkish position on foreign and 
security policy issues than the other three parties in the 
governing Alliance coalition.) 
SILVERMAN