To coordinate EU’s position in view of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Swedish Prime Minister and European Council President Fredrik Reinfeldt today called for an extra informal European Council meeting to take place in Brussels on Thursday the 17th of September.

Today, Saturday, is the second and final day of the informal meeting between the EU’s foreign ministers in Stockholm. The day’s talks will focus on Afghanistan and the EU’s continued involvement in the country.

Anna Halvarsson works with transport issues at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU in Brussels. This autumn she is chairing two working parties within the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council. Their focus is primarily on shaping the transport of the future.

Pavan Sukhdev, economist and study leader for TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) is now in Strömstad, Sweden as a key speaker at the high-level conference "Visions for Biodiversity beyond 2010 - People, Ecosystem Services and the Climate Crisis". Biodiversity is closely linked to the climate issue, which is also the message from the latest TEEB results Climate Issues Update. The meeting in Strömstad is therefore important in the preparations for the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December.

The link between climate policy and measures for biodiversity must be strengthened. A clear vision for the future is necessary. To put a price on services provided by nature is a way of clarifying what is required to preserve biodiversity.

The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) is meeting in Brussels on 14–15 September. Preparations ahead of the upcoming EU summit on 29–30 October, the situation in Afghanistan following the elections, the EU’s approach towards Iran and the EU’s relations with the Southern Caucasus are important issues on the agenda. Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström and Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt will chair the Council meetings.

At yesterday’s meeting of Coreper, the ambassadors prepared for next week’s meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council. Afghanistan and Iran are some of the issues on the agenda for the Council meeting. The Coreper ambassadors also discussed the EU's relations with the USA.

European Foreign Ministers must make a real contribution to achieve a deal at Copenhagen.

Twenty per cent of children in the EU do not possess adequate literacy skills. Unemployment levels among young people are more than twice that of the rest of the population. Through EU cooperation, challenges such as these are can be better addressed, said Swedish Minister for Youth Policy Nyamko Sabuni in her speech at the ongoing conference on EU youth policy.