A member of the European Union and Western European Country, Sweden made history today in a move of true leadership. At 450,295 square km, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.7 million.

Sweden has always been a very independent and proactive country within the European Union. The United States won’t decide our policies- this was the recent message from Stockholm.

Thursday Sweden officially recognized the state of Palestine. A vote at the UN General Assembly in 2012 secured a de facto Palestinian statehood, although a ‘yes’ vote from most EU members is still pending.

While Sweden is the first in Western Europe to have recognized the state EU members Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic have already done so.

The recognition was announced by Stockholm’s foreign minister and it was fast tracked less than a month after the government announced its intention to make the controversial move.

Today’s recognition is a contribution to a better future for a region that has for too long been characterized by frozen negotiations, destruction and frustration,” Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom wrote in the daily Dagens Nyheter.

“Some will state this decision comes too soon. I am afraid, rather, that it is too late.”
“It is an important step that confirms the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”