Stockholm - Sweden on Wednesday welcomed the Czech senate's approval of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. "The Treaty will provide the European Union with a modern set of rules and greater possibilities to take up important challenges, such as cross-border crime," Swedish Minister for European Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom said.

Malmstrom added that the treaty "reinforces the EU's decision- making capacity" while making the bloc "more open and democratic."

Sweden is on July 1 due to take over the rotating presidency of the 27-member bloc from the Czech Republic.

Ireland has yet to approve the treaty after voters rejected it in a referendum in June 2008.