Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and EU Commission’s President Jose Manuel Barroso held a joint press conference Wednesday when Sweden formally took over the EU Presidency till December 31s.

Prime Minister Reinfeldt said that the most important thing is that the EU should unite to deal with various challenges.

“The most important thing is to ensure that we are able to gather the EU together to respond to the challenges that people face and where strong European cooperation can make a difference. I myself, the Government, Sweden and the EU are ready to take on the challenge!”

Prime Minister Reinfeldt reiterated the priorities the Swedish Presidency will deal with as it faces many challenges in the midst of the most serious economic crisis in Europe and the world.

“We will prioritize continued efforts to tackle the financial crisis and to deal with the rising unemployment that is currently affecting Europe….At the same time, perhaps the greatest challenge of our generation is managing climate change. There is no time to lose. We will do everything in our power to reach an international climate agreement in Copenhagen in December” said the Prime Minister.

Sweden is expected to lead over 3000 meetings, most of them taking place in Brussels and Luxembourg. Over one hundred informal meetings will be held in different locations around Sweden.

A series of institutional changes will be addressed. A newly elected European Parliament will begin its work and a new Commission will be appointed. There is also uncertainty as to whether the Treaty of Lisbon will be able to enter into force in the autumn. In addition, we hope to develop EU cooperation on justice and home affairs, by drawing up a Stockholm Program, according to the Prime Minister.

“We hope to be able to conduct an open, responsive and results-oriented Presidency, focusing on issues of interest to the almost 500 million people who live in Europe,” said Reinfeldt.

Another aim is to adopt an EU strategy that will strengthen environmental cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. To strengthen EU policies on relations with its neighboring countries and continue the enlargement process are also important said the Prime Minister.

“The Swedish Presidency will also work to strengthen the EU’s role as a global actor with a clear agenda for peace, development, democracy and human rights,” said Reinfeldt.

Borroso echoed with Reinfeldt’s priorities and expressed that he will cooperate with Swedish presidency in dealing with all the challenges.

By Xuefei Chen, People’s Daily Online, Stockholm