On Thursday, Sweden's Minister for EU Affairs Birgitta Ohlsson will be visiting Budapest to place flowers at Swedish Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg's memorial in a move to support the fight against "anti-Semitism, oppression of Roma and discrimination of minorities".

Wallenberg, who was working as a diplomat in Nazi-occupied Budapest when he managed to rescue tens of thousands of Jews destined for death camps, went missing after his arrest by Soviet forces in Hungary on January 17, 1945. Serious doubt has been cast on the official Soviet version of the fate of the Swedish Holocaust hero.

"In Europe today we are seeing increasing anti-Semitism, oppression of Roma and discrimination of minorities, all of which is contrary to the EU's value of liberty. It therefore feels especially important to honour Raoul Wallenberg here this year, when Hungary, in its role of holder of the Presidency of the EU, has chosen to tackle a number of challenges concerning human rights. Not least when it comes to the situation of the Roma," Birgitta Ohlsson said in a statement.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg's birth. The Budapest memorial is placed in Szent István Park, District XIII. The statue is called the Serpent Slayer.