Malmström said Sweden takes the view that the Lisbon Strategy has been successful in many respects. But she admitted that there is a "delivery gap" between commitments made at European level and what countries are delivering at national level.
"Against this background, we need to draw conclusions for the elaboration of a new strategy for sustainable growth and full employment for the coming decade. We need, at national level, to give priority to reforms and deliver good results," she said.
Malmström said her country has tried to plan for the Swedish Presidency as much as possible, over "several years", and paid tribute to the 'trio of presidencies' format (EurActiv 20/11/08). However, she hinted that Stockholm had learned to expect the unexpected after watching the Georgia war break out early in the French EU Presidency (EurActiv 19/08/08), and the gas crisis in the first few hours of the Czech EU Presidency (see EurActiv LinksDossier on 'Pipeline Politics').
"We cannot escape the fact that even though planning is important, things seldom turn out the way you planned. As John Lennon sang: 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans'," Malmström said.
The Swedish EU affairs minister said the primary objectives of her country's EU presidency would be addressing the global economic crisis in a way that allows the EU to emerge "in a stronger position" from the turmoil, and taking responsibility for the climate threat in the context of the upcoming Copenhagen summit, a major milestone in deciding joint policies for after 2012.
She said Stockholm supports the Lisbon Treaty and intends to ensure that it is launched smoothly and effectively from the very beginning, but acknowledged that responsibility for ratification lies with individual member states.
"Following the challenges we are facing, I myself as well as Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt have called for a party truce during the Swedish Presidency. During the 2001 Swedish Presidency, we agreed with the then-Social Democratic government that a successful Swedish Presidency was more important than party struggles. However, the opposition has hitherto rejected our approach," Malmström said.
