Swedish EU Presidency Minister for Communications Visit to

UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000715 STATE PASS USTR FOR DAVID WEINER AND KIRA ALVAREZ STATE PASS FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION COMMERCE FOR NTIA USEU FOR CHASE AND LIPPEAT SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECPS KIPR ETRD EINT OVIP PGOV SW SUBJECT: Swedish EU Presidency Minister for Communications Visit to Washington November 30-December 3 to get input for EU ICT Agenda ¶1. This is an Action Request. Please see paragraph 2. ¶2. Summary and Action Request: Post recommends appropriate policy-level Washington officials meet with Swedish Minister of Communications Asa Torstensson during her November 30-December 3 visit because she is seeking U.S. input into her efforts to "set the starting position" for discussions of the EU ICT Agenda from now until 2015. The European Commission will present its ICT agenda in ¶2010. Torstensson wants to present the Member States' perspective at an IT Meeting in December 2009. End Summary and Action Request. Setting the EU ICT Agenda -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶3. On November 13, Ambassador Barzun met with Swedish Minister for Communications Asa Torstensson to discuss her November 30-December 3 visit to Washington. Under the Swedish EU Presidency, Torstensson said she is working to "set the starting position" from EU Member States for the EU's ICT Agenda up to 2015. She noted that the European Commission (EC) will present a report on the ICT Agenda in 2010, but prior to that at an IT Meeting in December 2009, Torstensson wants to present the conclusions from the EU Members States on the ICT Agenda. Learning about the US experience and perspective, she said, will help her as her Ministry presents Member States positions regarding the ICT Agenda and related EC reports coming out in 2010, including a special declaration in the next few weeks as part of a packet for electronic communications, and the Services Innovation Strategy, which will include digital services. ¶4. Torstensson reported on the Swedish EU Presidency hosted meeting November 9-10. "The Visby Agenda: Creating Impact for an eUnion 2015." She said the meeting was part of preparation for the Swedish Presidency's report in December on Member State priorities for ICT policy and programs for the EU ICT agenda. The conference was broadcast on the Web. Its format included open discussion on the internet using a hash tag to allow the Ministry to consolidate the Facebook, Twitter, and other feeds. She said people participating via the internet criticized the conference participants for "vague debate," noting that Member States were less pointed in such an open format. Nevertheless, Torstensson said the conference gave a good basis for EU work in its ICT agenda with Member States showing a high degree of interest. She said an alternative report was already on the web at ourvisby.eu. Torstensson said her Ministry will prepare a summary of the conference conclusions to the next EU Presidency (Spain). Objectives of Torstensson's Requested Meetings -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --- -------------- ¶6. Torstensson will be available for appointments December 1,2, and part of December 3. So far, she has appointments with: Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer at OSTP Vivek Kundra, Chief Information Officer at OMB She is seeking appointments with: Secretary Locke at the Department of Commerce; Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the FCC Rob Atkinson, CEO of the think tank ITIF Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security Sen Jay Rockefeller Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison Rep James Oberstar Her portfolio also covers transportation, so she is seeking appointments with: Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation Joseph Szabo, Federal Railroad Administration a representative of the Global Road Safety Facility at the World Bank. ¶7. At the Department of Commerce, the Minister wants to discuss Internet governance, connecting back to what was discussed during working level meetings in September and November. She wants to express support for the U.S. approach to the issue, and discuss U.S.- proposed wording about ISP's roles and responsibilities to combat copyright infringements in the framework of the negotiations on ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). Presently, the GOS coordinates the EU position in these negotiations. Finally, she wishes to exchange information about EU and U.S. policy priorities. ¶8. At the FCC, the Minister wishes to discuss net neutrality in the U.S. and the EU, given FCC's decision about net neutrality and EU's revision of its telecom regulations. She is keen to learn about broadband-related stimulus measures taken as a result of the financial crisis, and the broadband strategy which the FCC is currently developing for the U.S. The Swedish government presented a new broadband policy November 6. ¶9. At DHS, Torstensson will, based on language in U.S.-EU Summit Declaration, seek to discuss how U.S.-EU cooperation on cybersecurity will develop. She also plans to express interest in Swedish participation in exercises, such as Cyber Storm III. She will seek information about U.S. priorities in the cybersecurity, and would be pleased to share information about EU priorities. ¶10. At OSTP and OMB, Torstensson plans to discuss horizontal IT-policy issues, and will seek information on U.S. priorities in areas such as IT and broadband in application, such as IT and transportation, and IT and health care. ¶12. On the bilateral side, the Minister has also asked the Swedish Embassy to propose meetings that are more of fact-finding missions: Suitable Business organization, to discuss the hypothesis "If companies in the U.S. are better at using IT in its operations than Swedish and other EU-based companies -- then why are they better. How can Swedish businesses develop in this area?" She also wants to meet with InfoDev - a global development financing program among international development agencies, coordinated and served by a Secretariat housed in the Global ICT Department (GICT) of the World Bank. InfoDev coordinates aid donor's efforts, and supports global information sharing in three main areas: - Enabling access for all - Mainstreaming ICT as tools of development and poverty reduction - Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Growth Torstensson's objective in meeting Infodev would be to gather information and assess to what extent Swedish public efforts in IT and telecom, as well as Swedish corporate sector efforts, can the strengthened by activities in the international development cooperation area. ¶13. The official organizing the Minister's visit is Petter Bryman, Office of the Minister for Communications Petter. Bryman@enterprise.ministry.se Phone 46 761 420803 Or via the Central Switchboard 46 8 405 1000 He is being assisted by the Minister's political advisor Henrik Hansson Henrik. hansson@enterprise.ministry.se Direct number 46 8 404 1653 Mobile 46 70 351 8521 Switchboard 46 8 405 1000 Fax 46 8 411 7393 At the Swedish Embassy in Washington, the person coordinating the ICT portion of the visit is: Magnus Harviden Counselor, Science and Technology Head of the Office of Science, Embassy of Sweden 2900 K St. NW, Washington DC 20007 (Visiting address: 901 30th St. NW) Phone (202) 536 1586, cell (202) 288 2564 Email magnus.harviden@growthanalysis.se, fax (202) 536 1584 The person at the Swedish Embassy organizing the Transport side of the visit is: Michael Mohr Michael. Mohr@foreign.ministry.se ¶14. Comment: This visit gives us a chance to shape the Swedish EU Presidency perspective as Torstensson develops the Member States conclusions on what Europe's ICT agenda should be. With only six weeks left in the Swedish EU Presidency, Minister Torstensson is setting the starting point for the work under the Spanish EU Presidency to determine the EU's ICT agenda until 2015. If you would like Post to pass on suggestions for other meetings, or if there are other ways Embassy Stockholm can help get the U.S. message across to Minister Torstensson during her visit, please contact Economic Counselor Laura Kirkconnell. (46 8 783 5323: KirkconnellLJ@ state.gov.) BARZUN