Sweden officially recognizes the state of Palestine its foreign minister announced on Thursday. The country becomes the first EU member state to do so, although Hungary's Lavakia and Poland each took this step before joining the union. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he welcomed the announcement. Israel, however, has criticised the move. We hope that this will be received in a balanced and constructive way also by Israel. We are hopeful that our excellent cooperation will continue. Palestinians are seeking statehood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza with East Jerusalem forming the capital. In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted to give Palestinian officials access to UN agencies upgrading the territory status. However, the European Union has yet to give its official support. In early October 2014, MPs in Britain voted in favour of a non-binding motion to recognise a Palestinian state if it reaches a peace agreement with Israel.