Sweden’s work in the European Council

EU heads of state and government agreed on 29 April on the guidelines for negotiations on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU. The meeting was an extraordinary European Council due to the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

On 21 March, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven met UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. During their meeting they discussed the serious situation in Syria and efforts to reach a political solution.

When EU leaders gathered at a meeting of the European Council on 9 March, the economic situation in the EU was discussed. The agenda also included the situation in the western Balkans and migration issues with a focus on the situation in Libya. The European Council re-elected Donald Tusk to the position of President. Sweden was represented by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

Preventing the loss of lives in the Mediterranean was a top priority when EU leaders met at an informal summit in Valetta on 3 February.

Today, Monday 21 November, Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training Anna Ekström will travel to Brussels to take part in the European Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council. On Tuesday, Ms Ekström will meet Dutch Minister of Education Jet Bussemaker in The Hague.

For the first time, EU heads of state and government met without a UK representative. At the Summit, a joint declaration – the Bratislava Declaration – was adopted, focusing on measures to tackle the major challenges that the EU must deliver on in the near future.

On Monday 11 July, Minister for EU Affairs and Trade Ann Linde is meeting the French and German EU ministers in Berlin to jointly raise the level of ambition for EU job creation efforts and to step up the important climate efforts that the world has undertaken since Paris. Together, they will sign a declaration that shows a higher level of ambition and strengthened cooperation on a few specific issues.

The UK was the focus of the discussions when the EU heads of state and government gathered for the European Council meeting on 28–29 June. UK Prime Minister David Cameron took part on the first day and on the second day the other 27 leaders met for an informal meeting to discuss the future of the EU.

On the first day of the European Council on Thursday 17 March, the EU leaders agreed on a joint position on cooperation with Turkey. Friday’s talks with Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu resulted in an agreement on migration issues aimed at stopping the irregular flow of refugees and ending human smuggling. Sweden was represented by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

The migration crisis was once again the focus when the EU’s heads of state and government met Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Brussels on Monday. After their meeting with Mr Davutoğlu, the EU leaders gathered for an informal European Council, where further measures to limit migration flows from Turkey to the EU were among the topics raised.