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.

Today is the first day of the high-level conference on sustainable urban development. Elisabet Falemo, who is State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment, will take part in the conference.

EU heads of state and government will meet for an extra informal meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The invitations from Fredrik Reinfeldt have been sent out today. The purpose of the meeting is to coordinate the EU's position ahead of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh.

Today the European Parliament approved José Manuel Barroso as President of the European Commission.

When the EU’s ministers for migration meet in Brussels on 21 September, a discussion on a common EU programme for resettlement will be high on the agenda. Other issues that the ministers will discuss are the problem of children who come to the EU without their guardians and the Free Movement Directive, which regulates free movement for citizens of EU countries and their families. Sweden’s Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström will chair the meeting.