SWEDISH DEPUTY PM URGES SENIOR USG VISITS TO SWEDEN DURING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STOCKHOLM 000569

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG EUN ECON EIND KGHG SENV SW
SUBJECT: SWEDISH DEPUTY PM URGES SENIOR USG VISITS TO SWEDEN DURING
EU PRESIDENCY; WANTS TO LAUNCH U.S.-EU ALERNATIVE ENERGY PARTNERSHIP
AT U.S.-EU SUMMIT

This is an Action request. Please see para 2.


1. (SBU) Summary: On September 2, Deputy Prime Minister Olofsson
pressed for the strong U.S.-Sweden cooperation in alternative
technology to show results. She urged a ministerial-level U.S.
official come to the October 14-16 Informal meeting of EU
Competitiveness Ministers to present U.S. efforts to transform the
United States into an eco-efficient economy -- or another event
during the Presidency. Olofsson's State Secretary Altera explained
that Sweden wants to expand the U.S.-EU alternative energy
partnership to the EU level, and needs to work intensely to launch
this effort at the US-EU summit planned for early November. The
meeting ended with a conversation of the challenge of convincing
young people not to share files illegally via the internet. End
Summary.


2. (U) ACTION REQUEST: The USG is currently batting 0 for 8 in
responding to Swedish invitations for minister-level attendance at
EU meetings. Post requests Washington's help in securing a senior
USG official visit to a suitable Presidency event in Sweden during
this fall. End Action request

-------------- -
Plea for Senior U.S. Official to Attend EU Informal Ministerial on
Competitiveness
--------------


3. (SBU) On September 1, the Ambassador paid a courtesy call on
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud
Olofsson, the Swedish official at the forefront of the robust
U.S.-Swedish cooperation in alternative technology through the "One
Big Thing" alternative energy partnership, and related programs.
Olofsson explained the main theme of Sweden's EU Presidency,
transformation to an eco-efficient economy, i.e. achieving economic
growth while reducing green house gas emissions. (Comment: Sweden
is a proven leader in this area having grown its economy 46 percent
between 1992 and 2008, while reducing its green house gas emissions
by 9 percent.)


4. (SBU) Sweden has held a series of EU-related meetings and
Informal Ministerials to promote eco-efficiency, including a July
2009 meeting of Ministers for Energy and Environment. The Swedish
government has invited White House, cabinet-level and sub-cabinet
level U.S. officials to these events to present U.S. efforts to the
informal gatherings of European Ministers, but so far none have been
able to come. (Comment: It is unprecedented for an EU Presidency
host to invite USG officials of any level to their informal
ministerial meetings. During the Swedish Presidency, there have
been a flood of such invitations. This may have to do with Foreign
Minister Carl Bildt's personal predilection, now shared by his
fellow Ministers, to shake things up and to do things differently.
While USG officials may have been surprised by such invitations, we
should seriously consider taking advantage of the unprecedented
opportunity the Swedes have given us. End Comment)


5. (SBU) Olofsson said it is time to see results from strong
U.S.-Swedish cooperation in clean technology in line with efforts
toward a climate change agreement in Copenhagen and the new U.S.
Administration's investment in new alternative energy technology.


6. (SBU) Olofsson noted that Sweden would have liked a senior U.S.
official to attend some of the meetings at the July 2009 EU Informal
Ministerial in Are of Energy and Environment Ministers in order to
be part of the dialog on eco-efficiency and tell the EU Ministers
what is happening in the United States.


7. (U) Olofsson said her priority is to have a Ministerial-level
U.S. official attend the Informal Meeting of EU Competiveness
Ministers in Umea, Sweden on October 14-16. She stressed the
importance of showing European Ministers that developing a green
economy is a U.S. priority.


8. (U) Note on Invitations Extended to USG officials:

The Embassy is aware of the following USG officials being invited by
the Swedish EU Presidency to present to EU Informal Ministerial
meetings in Sweden:

Secretary of Energy Chu
Deputy Secretary of Energy Poneman
Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Browner
Secretary of Labor Solis
Secretary of Health Sebelius
Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano
Secretary Clinton
Deputy Secretary Lew
Special Envoy Stern

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Of those, the invitations Secretary Clinton, Deputy Secretary Lew
and Special Envoy Stern to attend EU Development Days October 22-24
are still pending. The other invitations were declined.

In addition, Sweden has invited Assistant Secretary-level and other
U.S. officials.

Assistant Secretary of Energy Zoi invited to the EU Strategic Energy
Plan conference October 20-21, invitation still pending.

Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Carson represented the USG
at the U.S.-EU Troika Meeting on Africa July 14

Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Phil Gordon
represented the U.S. at the U.S.-EU Political Director Troika on
July 3.

Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Lute visited Sweden
at the U.S. initiative for bilateral discussions, which was much
appreciated by the GOS.

Other U.S. officials who have visited recently at the U.S.
initiative for bilateral consultations with Sweden related to the
Swedish EU Presidency include:

Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Morningstar
Special Advisor for the Great Lakes Region of Africa Wolpe
Treasury Assistant Secretary Cohen

End Note

--------------
Need to See Results From U.S. Interest in Green Technology
--------------


9. (U) Olofsson said she discussed eco-efficiency with U.S. Energy
Secretary Chu. She noted that there was a lot of "low hanging
fruit" where the U.S. and Sweden could get results, such as
cooperation in building technologies and transport systems. She
said the challenge was to find proactive cooperation between U.S.
and Swedish businesses on concrete projects in the U.S. and Europe.
She said possible areas for business collaboration included building
sustainable cities, and rebuilding in older communities, such as the
sustainable development project in Stockholm's formerly run-down
Hammarby district. Olofsson invited U.S. officials to call her to
propose projects.


10. (U) Olofsson suggested that Sweden could perhaps arrange an
eco-efficient activity in the years ahead to promote business and
innovation. Altera noted that the way to do this was to ask for
practical advice from businessmen on productive areas. The U.S.
side noted that U.S. firms are in the forefront of many of these
areas, such as energy efficiency and improved housing construction.

--------------
Taking the U.S.-Sweden Alternative Energy Partnership to the EU
Level
--------------


11. (U) Olofsson noted that U.S.-Sweden cooperation included
extending the U.S.-Sweden Alternative Energy Partnership to the EU
level. Her State Secretary Ola Altera explained how said Sweden was
ready to launch the Next Big Thing (NBT),the U.S.-EU Alternative
Energy Partnership, and wanted to launch it at the U.S.-EU Summit
planned for early November.


12. (U) Altera said he had consulted his State Secretary
colleagues, Gustav Lind in the PM's office and MFA's Frank Belfrage,
and everyone agreed that Sweden should be talking to the European
Commission about NBT.


13. (SBU) Altera said the Swedish EU Presidency is positive to both
U.S. energy initiatives, NBT and the U.S.-EU Energy Council, and to
the broad approach behind both efforts. He said Sweden's priority
is NBT, technology, research, entrepreneurship of alternative
technology, and being results-oriented. He said Sweden does not
want to see these efforts bogged down by geo-political discussions
of the security side of the energy issue. Therefore, he said, if
NBT can be part of the U.S.-Energy Council that would be good, but
we should drop that link if it would bog down work on NBT.


14. (SBU) Altera also noted the value of the Transatlantic
Economic Council (TEC),but said Sweden wants to avoid the risk of
bogging down NBT if it is "run through people in Brussels."


15. (SBU) Altera said we need to work intensely to get NBT as a

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result of the U.S.-EU Summit. He said it would be important for the
NBT, U.S.-EU Energy Council or "whatever we call it" to meet before
Christmas 2009 in order to set the course, and get the effort
started.


16. (U) Altera said his Ministry was taking a pragmatic approach to
launching the NBT, listening to various views. When the U.S. side
suggested that NBT needed to be distilled down so it could be
absorbed into the systems of other countries, Altera referred to
practical meetings on the U.S.-Sweden Alternative Energy Partnership
held between U.S. and Swedish business that helped shape the
successful bilateral U.S.-Sweden alternative energy partnership.
Olofsson said Sweden could arrange meetings to connect companies as
part of the US-EU alternative energy partnership, and even
co-finance projects if that is needed. Referring to her
government's report on eco-efficient economies (which is at the link
www.se2009.eu/polopoly_fs/1.6629
!menu/standard/file/A%20European%
20Eco%20Efficient%20Economy.pdf),
Olofsson said we should pick out areas in the forefront of this
effort for such cooperation.


17. (U) Finally, Altera noted that NBT does not replace the strong
U.S.-Sweden bilateral cooperation on alternative energy.


18. (SBU) Comment: Following the meeting, the Embassy got
additional details about Swedish plans for launching the NBT from
Maria Brogren at the Energy Division of the Ministry. She noted
that the European Council had ordered the Commission to give its
opinion on the U.S.-proposed U.S.-EU Energy Council. She repeated
that her government's first priority and preference would be to
launch NBT at the U.S.-EU Summit with participation by Secretary
Chu, Secretary Clinton, Minister Olofsson and Foreign Minister
Bildt. She said Sweden would like to see that foursome present for
the first meeting of the Energy Council. But, she said, if
geopolitics bogs down the Energy Council, Sweden would want to move
on the technology sub group effort of the Energy Council by
launching the Next Big Thing and later folding it into the
technology working group of the Energy Council. End Comment.

--------------
Bridging the Gap on Illegal File Sharing
--------------


19. (SBU) The Ambassador concluded the meeting by raising
intellectual property rights, since Olofsson's party (the Center
Party) is the one member of the ruling coalition least supportive of
U.S. efforts to improve Sweden's efforts against illegal file
sharing. Olofsson said there are discussions within the government
about putting more legislation in place against file sharing. While
legislation is needed, and Sweden follows European level
legislation, she argued that a solution should not only be left to
politicians via legislation. The problem was a market failure, the
lack of a product that people could easily access at a reasonable
price. Many young people, she said, think that all file sharing is
free. It is hard to change their perception of the rules. Olofsson
said she wanted artists and creative people to be paid for their
ideas, but we need to create a market solution that is easy for
people to follow.


20. (SBU) The U.S. side countered that as knowledge-based
economies, both the U.S. and Sweden have a lot to loose from illegal
file sharing. We need to make this public debate about the artists
being stolen from.


21. (SBU) Olofsson noted that Nokia and Ericsson have introduced
new services to share products while paying the artists, which is
good. We need to find a way to pay artists property, not just to
pass legislation, she repeated.


22. (SBU) Olofsson said we need to understand how young people see
the problem. We should talk about what is happening now, not just
pass legislation, she stressed. She pointed to the success of
Sweden's Pirate Party in the European Parliamentary elections as an
example of that young people "do not trust us." She said the Pirate
Party attracted voters from both the right and the left, and the
Pirate Party MEP now has two advisors, one with a background in the
Left Party, and one from a neo-liberal party.

--------------
Final Comment
--------------


23. (SBU) The request for help in securing a senior USG official
visit to Sweden during the remaining months of the Presidency was a
direct plea for help. Olofsson said that she is hopeful that the
USG will be able to demonstrate the importance it attaches to the

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bilateral links in the Alternative energy area by actually sending a
senior official to a meeting where the Swedes host its European
partners. End comment.

BARZUN