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FM AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4904
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UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000715 
 
STATE PASS USTR FOR DAVID WEINER AND KIRA ALVAREZ 
 
STATE PASS FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
 
COMMERCE FOR NTIA 
 
USEU FOR CHASE AND LIPPEAT 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS KIPR ETRD EINT OVIP PGOV SW
SUBJECT: Swedish EU Presidency Minister for Communications Visit to 
Washington November 30-December 3 to get input for EU ICT Agenda 
 
¶1.  This is an Action Request.  Please see paragraph 2. 
 
¶2.  Summary and Action Request:  Post recommends appropriate 
policy-level Washington officials meet with Swedish Minister of 
Communications Asa Torstensson during her November 30-December 3 
visit because she is seeking U.S. input into her efforts to "set the 
starting position" for discussions of the EU ICT Agenda from now 
until 2015. The European Commission will present its ICT agenda in 
¶2010. Torstensson wants to present the Member States' perspective at 
an IT Meeting in December 2009. End Summary and Action Request. 
 
Setting the EU ICT Agenda 
------- ---- ------------ 
 
¶3.  On November 13, Ambassador Barzun met with Swedish Minister for 
Communications Asa  Torstensson to discuss her  November 30-December 
3 visit to Washington.  Under the Swedish EU Presidency, Torstensson 
said she is working to "set the starting position" from EU Member 
States for the EU's ICT Agenda up to 2015.  She noted that the 
European Commission (EC) will present a report on the ICT Agenda in 
2010, but prior to that at an IT Meeting in December 2009, 
Torstensson wants to present the conclusions from the EU Members 
States on the ICT Agenda.    Learning about the US experience and 
perspective, she said, will help her as her Ministry presents Member 
States positions regarding the ICT Agenda and related EC reports 
coming out in 2010, including a special declaration in the next few 
weeks as part of a packet for electronic communications, and the 
Services Innovation Strategy, which will include digital services. 
 
¶4. Torstensson reported on the Swedish EU Presidency hosted meeting 
November 9-10. "The Visby Agenda:  Creating Impact for an eUnion 
2015."  She said the meeting was part of preparation for the Swedish 
Presidency's report in December on Member State priorities for ICT 
policy and programs for the EU ICT agenda.  The conference was 
broadcast on the Web.  Its format included open discussion on the 
internet using a hash tag to allow the Ministry to consolidate the 
Facebook, Twitter, and other feeds.   She said people participating 
via the internet criticized the conference participants for "vague 
debate," noting that Member States were less pointed in such an open 
format.  Nevertheless, Torstensson said the conference gave a good 
basis for EU work in its ICT agenda with Member States showing a 
high degree of interest.  She said an alternative report was already 
on the web at ourvisby.eu.  Torstensson said her Ministry will 
prepare a summary of the conference conclusions to the next EU 
Presidency (Spain). 
 
Objectives of Torstensson's Requested Meetings 
------- ------ ---------- -------- --- ------- 
 
¶6. Torstensson will be available for appointments December 1,2, and 
part of December 3.  So far, she has appointments with: 
 
Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer at OSTP 
Vivek Kundra, Chief Information Officer at OMB 
 
She is seeking appointments with: 
 
Secretary Locke at the Department of Commerce; 
Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the FCC 
Rob Atkinson, CEO of the think tank ITIF 
Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security 
Sen Jay Rockefeller 
Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison 
Rep James Oberstar 
 
Her portfolio also covers transportation, so she is seeking 
appointments with: 
 
Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation 
Joseph Szabo, Federal Railroad Administration 
a representative of the Global Road Safety Facility at the World 
Bank. 
 
¶7.  At the Department of Commerce, the Minister wants to discuss 
Internet governance, connecting back to what was discussed during 
working level meetings in September and November. She wants to 
express support for the U.S. approach to the issue, and discuss 
U.S.- proposed wording about ISP's roles and responsibilities to 
combat copyright infringements in the framework of the negotiations 
on ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). Presently, the GOS 
coordinates the EU position in these negotiations.  Finally, she 
wishes to exchange information about EU and U.S. policy priorities. 
 
 
 
¶8.  At the FCC, the Minister wishes to discuss net neutrality in the 
U.S. and the EU, given FCC's decision about net neutrality and EU's 
revision of its telecom regulations.  She is keen to learn about 
broadband-related stimulus measures taken as a result of the 
financial crisis, and the broadband strategy which the FCC is 
currently developing for the U.S. The Swedish government presented a 
new broadband policy November 6. 
 
¶9. At DHS, Torstensson will, based on language in U.S.-EU Summit 
Declaration, seek to discuss how U.S.-EU cooperation on 
cybersecurity will develop.  She also plans to express interest in 
Swedish participation in exercises, such as Cyber Storm III.  She 
will seek information about U.S. priorities in the cybersecurity, 
and would be pleased to share information about EU priorities. 
 
¶10. At OSTP and OMB, Torstensson plans to discuss horizontal 
IT-policy issues, and will seek information on U.S. priorities in 
areas such as IT and broadband in application, such as IT and 
transportation, and IT and health care. 
 
¶12.  On the bilateral side, the Minister has also asked the Swedish 
Embassy to propose meetings that are more of fact-finding missions: 
 
Suitable Business organization, to discuss the hypothesis  "If 
companies in the U.S. are better at using IT in its operations than 
Swedish and other EU-based companies -- then why are they better. 
How can Swedish businesses develop in this area?" 
 
She also wants to meet with InfoDev - a global development financing 
program among international development agencies, coordinated and 
served by a Secretariat housed in the Global ICT Department (GICT) 
of the World Bank. InfoDev coordinates aid donor's efforts, and 
supports global information sharing in three main areas: 
- Enabling access for all 
- Mainstreaming ICT as tools of development and poverty reduction 
- Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Growth 
 Torstensson's objective in meeting Infodev would be to gather 
information and assess to what extent Swedish public efforts in IT 
and telecom, as well as Swedish corporate sector efforts, can the 
strengthened by activities in the international development 
cooperation area. 
 
¶13. The official organizing the Minister's visit is Petter Bryman, 
Office of the Minister for Communications 
 
Petter. Bryman@enterprise.ministry.se 
Phone 46 761 420803 
Or via the Central Switchboard 46 8 405 1000 
 
He is being assisted by the Minister's political advisor Henrik 
Hansson 
Henrik. hansson@enterprise.ministry.se 
Direct number 46 8 404 1653 
Mobile 46 70 351 8521 
Switchboard 46 8 405 1000 
Fax 46 8 411 7393 
 
At the Swedish Embassy in Washington, the person coordinating the 
ICT portion of the visit is: 
 
Magnus Harviden 
Counselor, Science and Technology 
Head of the Office of Science, Embassy of Sweden 
2900 K St. NW, Washington DC 20007 (Visiting address: 901 30th St. 
NW) 
Phone (202) 536 1586,  cell (202) 288 2564 
Email magnus.harviden@growthanalysis.se, fax (202) 536 1584 
 
The person at the Swedish Embassy organizing the Transport side of 
the visit is: 
Michael Mohr 
Michael. Mohr@foreign.ministry.se 
 
 
¶14.  Comment:  This visit gives us a chance to shape the Swedish EU 
Presidency perspective as Torstensson develops the Member States 
conclusions on what Europe's ICT agenda should be. With only six 
weeks left in the Swedish EU Presidency, Minister Torstensson is 
setting the starting point for the work under the Spanish EU 
Presidency to determine the EU's ICT agenda until 2015. If you would 
 
like Post to pass on suggestions for other meetings, or if there are 
other ways Embassy Stockholm can help get the U.S. message across to 
Minister Torstensson during her visit, please contact Economic 
Counselor Laura Kirkconnell.  (46 8 783 5323: KirkconnellLJ@ 
state.gov.) 
 
BARZUN