Meeting between Belgian and Swedish Presidencies

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Louis Michel, met his Swedish counterpart, Anna Lindh, on Thursday, 12 July in Nyköping (Sweden). The visit was part of Mr Michel's tour of European capitals in his capacity as President-in-Office of the Council of Ministers of the European Union.

During the meeting, the Belgian EU Presidency reiterated its determination to continue the work done by the Swedish Presidency on accession negotiations with the candidate countries.

The two ministers also discussed the debate on the future of Europe and the content of the Laeken Declaration.

Where European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) were concerned, Lindh and Michel reviewed the current process, which will ultimately lead to the announcement at the Laeken Summit that the European defence capability is operational. Apart from the military aspects of the ESDP, the two ministers talked about civil crisis management and the links between Europe's defence capability and the United Nations.

Sweden also expressed its interest in and support for the Presidency's plans for Africa. Lastly, the two ministers discussed relations between the EU and Russia.

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