US Secretary of State Blinken to Northern Sweden for EU Meeting
Meeting of the North Atlantic Council meeting during the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Session with Finland and Sweden in April 2023. From the left: US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken with Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström. (Photo: NATO)
Commissioners and ministers from the EU and the US will meet in Luleå, Northern Sweden, at the end of May to discuss trade and technology. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also visit the Northern Swedish city.
The fourth EU-US Trade and Technology Council meeting will be held in Luleå in Northern Sweden at the end of May.
The meeting, which will take place on the 30th-31st of May, will be held as part of Sweden's Presidency of the Council of the EU. Sweden took over the presidency in January 2023.
The Trade and Technology Council was launched in June 2021 and is the main forum for political coordination between the US and the EU on important global trade, economic, and technological issues. Meetings have previously been held in Pittsburg, Paris, and Washington D.C.
The green shift in Lulelå
"I can proudly announce that the Trade and Technology Council's fourth meeting will be held in Luleå. The Trade and Technology Council is in many ways a forum where we discuss how to face the challenges of implementing the green and digital shift. Northern Sweden – and Luleå in particular – is the perfect place to show how Sweden is handling many of these challenges, says Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell, in a press release.
As HNN has previously reported, several places in Northern Sweden are undergoing an enormous industrial shift, in which fossil-free production and electrification are in focus. This entail major investments in the production of green steel, mineral extraction, logistics, wind power, and batteries.
Norrbotten is way ahead in the green shift that will be the focus of the meeting, states the Norrbotten County Administrative Board in a press release.
"The EU and the US's work to facilitate trade is important for the entire world, but for a region such as Norrbotten with its great export, it is of particular importance, says Lotta Finstorp, Norrbotten County Governor.
Northern Sweden – and Luleå in particular – is the perfect place to show how Sweden is handling many of these challenges.
Sweden took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in January. From the left: Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson (Moderates) and the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. (Foto: Johannes Frandsen)
Several top politicians
The Trade and Technology Council will be led by the EU Commission Executive Vice Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The Swedish government will be represented by Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell, MFA Tobias Billstr'om, and Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, Ebba Busch.
The priorities for the presidency were presented by PM Ulf Kristersson during a Riksdag speech in December 2022.
Under Sweden's leadership of the council's work, the priorities will include security, competitiveness, the green shift, as well as democratic values and the rule of law.
The Presidency of the Council of the EU in short
- The Presidency of the Council of the EU (also known as the Council of Ministers) rotates among the EU member states every 6 months.
- Sweden has the presidency from the 1st of January to the 30th of June 2023.
- Sweden will lead approx. 2000 meetings in Brussels and Luxembourg, as well as approx. 150 meetings in Sweden.
- In addition to the ministers, approx. 200 Swedish civil servants will lead various working groups within the council.
- This is Sweden's third presidency. The previous presidencies were in 2001 and 2009.
Source: The Swedish Government.
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This article was originally published in Norwegian and has been translated by Birgitte Annie Molid Martinussen.