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OBAMA'S VISIT TO SWEDEN

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Five things Obama needs to know about Sweden

With US President Barack Obama soon to head to Sweden, political science PhD candidate Annelie Gregor pens an open letter to the president listing five things he needs to know about Sweden before arriving.

Five things Obama needs to know about Sweden

Dear President Barack Obama,

Despite being your “second choice,” Swedish policy-makers are thrilled that you blew off Russia to schedule America’s very first truly bilateral meeting with Sweden. Now, do not feel unduly pressured by the Swedish minister’s excitement. Your trip to Sweden will be like a pleasant breeze before you head to the G20 summit in Saint Petersburg.

To help you prepare Mr President, there are five things you will need to know about Sweden:

1. You will be united in mutual annoyance over Russia’s behaviour. As you express your irritation with Snowden’s recent visa-approval in Russia, Swedish policy-makers will express their indignation over Russia’s unannounced bombing exercise over Sweden this past Easter.

2. Prepare for plenty of fika in between meetings. Swedes consume more coffee per capita than anyone else in the world. However, despite their perceived environmentally-friendly posture, it is worth knowing that only a very few trendy hipsters in the neighbourhood of SoFo actually care if the coffee is fair trade.

If you do get to glimpse of some fair-trade-coffee-drinking-second-hand-shopping environmentalists, do not be baffled when you see them all wearing Converse sneakers. This is normal. Swedes are obsessed with American chucks. Obsessed even though they run at an average price of $120 (compared to $25 in your home state.) There is a trade issue (read: opportunity) for you to discuss.

3. Swedes love to jympa, i.e. exercise. After some small talk about the Swedish weather (Swedes’ favourite subject to discuss), someone will likely ask about your or Michelle’s workout routine (Swedes second favourite subject). After comparing your split times in the 10K, the subject of obesity and diabetes will likely be addressed. Since obesity and diabetes is the biggest national security threat to American citizens, take the opportunity to learn what Swedish policy-makers have done to tackle obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in Sweden. And don’t smoke while doing so.

4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is God. (He plays soccer.)

5. During the fika breaks, ask about traditions during Swedish crayfish parties. Most representatives from the Swedish delegation will likely share how they celebrated one of their favourite holidays. Also, feel free to ask why Sweden has become the largest consumer of the cheaper, frozen, environmentally unsound Chinese crayfish rather than organically grown Louisiana Crayfish. (Read: another opportunity.)

Trivialities aside, there are also three foreign policy issues that you and your staff will not need to prepare for:

1. Do not worry about defending your drone policy, targeted killings or even the so-called signature strikes. Swedes have not taken a clear stand on this issue. Even though Sweden is a strong supporter of international law, Sweden is a lagom “neutral” country that tends to get uncomfortable during discussions like the War on Terror.

2. Guantanamo will be a non-topic. While Swedes dislike Guantanamo as much as Swedes dislike a neighbour who doesn’t recycle, this is a topic that will not be brought to the Ikea-table. If it is, just ask if Sweden could accept a handful of the prisoners. Such a counter-question will likely lead to another fika-break, because

taking a stance on such a question would be political suicide for any Swedish politician.

3. Military cooperation is a special interest. Since the Swedish Armed Forces have been labelled as a “special interest”, you will not likely get to chat about opportunities for co-operation between our armed forces in peacekeeping missions. Even though the Swedish Armed Forces have one of the best reputations in the world, the Swedish delegation will steer you away from this “special interest topic” to discuss matters of trade instead.

As Jan Joel Andersson, a researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, has argued, under the Obama administration and Sweden’s current center-right government, U.S.-Swedish relations have reached an all-time high, with common views on “free trade, openness and quest for democracy in the world.”

And while Sweden punches above its weight in the foreign policy arena, you, Mr. President, will very likely be met with lightweight topics during your talks.

Annelie Gregor is a political science Ph.D. candidate at the City University of New York. Her thesis looks at EU and US perspectives on “Limited Warfare within Coercive Diplomacy”.

Follow Annelie Gregor on Twitter

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US reclassifies Switzerland: What does it mean for American travellers?

America’s public health agency eased travel alerts for dozens of countries this week, including Switzerland. But does it mean that people from the United States can now travel here?

US reclassifies Switzerland: What does it mean for American travellers?
Not yet, but hopefully soon. Photo by Jan Rosolino / Unsplash

Switzerland in early June announced vaccinated travellers would be able to come on June 28th. Therefore, this story is now out of date. Please click here for more information. 

Due to massive vaccination efforts around the world, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lowered travel warning levels  for more than 110 countries and destinations, including Switzerland.

From the highest level four previously, which means all travel is discouraged, Switzerland was ‘promoted’ to Level 3, allowing travel for fully vaccinated individuals.

In total, 14 countries, including Switzerland’s neighbours France and Italy, have been reclassified to a lower level.

Does this mean American tourists can now come to Switzerland?

Even though the CDC has cleared travel for vaccinated US residents, it doesn’t mean they are now allowed to enter Switzerland.

For the time being, travel ban is still in place for most third countries, including the United States. The only exceptions are Swiss citizens or permanent residents returning to Switzerland.

READ MORE: When will Americans be allowed to travel to Switzerland again —and vice-versa?

There are some other exemptions as well, including people whose presence in Switzerland is absolutely necessary to maintain the functioning of the healthcare system or public security and order, death of a close family member in Switzerland, and to continue essential medical treatment that began in Switzerland or abroad.

Each of these conditions must be proven with official documentation.

For other ‘special necessity’ rules, see SEM’s page.

Basically, this means that tourists or other random travellers can’t come to Switzerland at the moment.

There are, however, some promising signs that this restriction may be lifted.

Swiss president Guy Parmelin is scheduled to meet with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, on June 15th. Biden will be in Geneva for high-level talks with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. 

It is not known what Switzerland and the United States will discuss at the meeting, beyond matters of importance to both nations, but there is a possibility that the subject of easing travel restrictions on both sides will be raised.

Also, under France’s new traffic light travel system, fully-vaccinated travellers can now enter France from non-EU countries, including the US.

This does not apply to Switzerland yet, but as the two countries share a border and both are part of the Schengen zone, Swiss entry regulations for US tourists might be relaxed in the near future — though not at this time.

Does this mean US residents can ‘slip’ into Switzerland through France?

Borders between the two countries are pretty porous and checks random at best, but if you attempt to get into Switzerland this way, you’d be breaking the law.

The only US citizens who can come into Switzerland legally right now are those residing in the EU/EFTA states, or one of the third nations deemed safe by public health officials:  Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus, Rwanda, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand.

In other words, it’s not the nationality of a traveller that counts but their place of residence.

What about Swiss citizens going on vacation to the United States?

The US still has a ban in place for tourists from the EU, including Switzerland. It also has similar exceptions — that is, US citizens and permanent residents returning from abroad.

The US is forming expert groups to decide when to lift global travel restrictions that have been in place since March 2020.

However, this will probably take time and, despite mounting pressure from the travel industry and airlines, US-bound travel may not be on the horizon for this summer.

READ MORE: How to get Switzerland’s Covid-19 health pass

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