During its six-month presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2009, Sweden notched up three major achievements – the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, co-operation with partners against the economic crisis and the successful preparations for the Copenhagen conference on climate change, Swedish ambassador in Sofia Paul Beijer said on December 17 2009.
 
He said that with the coming into effect of the Lisbon Treaty, the Swedish presidency of the EU would be the last one under the old.
 
"Now we have new institutions and to strengthen the EU's ability to act effectively and, hopefully, have a greater influence on the world stage," Beijer said.
 
Sweden had worked in partnership with other states to make sure that the effects of current economic and financial crisis were kept under control and that the European Union would emerge from the crisis stronger, he said.
 
In preparing for the Copenhagen conference on climate change, Sweden had achieved bringing about a consensus among EU member states on issues such as the extent to which countries would seek to reduce the causes of climate change, and the costs associated with this.
 
Sweden had made important efforts in other areas, including the development of a new five-year scheme to succeed the Lisbon Strategy for sustainable growth and development, an important concept to help meet the long-term challenges to the bloc’s economies and enable an exit strategy from the crisis.
 
Sweden had worked to develop a new five-year program in the Stockholm area of justice and home affairs, to succeed the current Hague programme ending this year.
 
Also significant were initiatives related to the Baltic Sea, which is intended to serve as a starter project for other macro-regions in the EU such as the Danube region.
 
The aim is to make better use of the potential of growing Baltic countries and improve their ability to deal effectively with pollution of the Baltic Sea.
 
Sweden had worked to strengthen the EU's role as a global actor, improving the union's ability to act in international crises, as well as reinforcing its co-operation with key partners.
 
Further, Sweden had made efforts to develop the process of EU enlargement and of ensuring peace and progress in the region.
 
Beijer paid tribute to the stability of the Bulgarian financial system during the crisis. While a number of countries had racked up significant deficits in their efforts to lessen the effects of unemployment, Bulgaria had tackled the crisis without running up government debt.