By ASSOCIATED PRESS
STOCKHOLM — Sweden and Finland urged the European Union on Friday to create an independent peace institute to broaden the scope of the bloc's peacekeeping efforts around the world.Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb stated that an independent think tank could have better opportunities to help solve conflicts than traditional diplomacy.Their proposed institute would be modeled on the US Institute of Peace, which is funded by the US Congress but run by an independent board.The ministers sent a letter with the suggestion to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday. They said they hoped to get support from other EU member countries for the initiative.
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