Nordics & Baltics
Lithuania: EU should step up security role in its East
If the EU wants to become an important geopolitical actor, it needs to play a role not only in Africa but in its Eastern neighbourhood, Lithuania’s deputy defence minister, Margiris Abukevičius, told EURACTIV at the sidelines of the NATO ministerial...
Finland’s opposition gain popularity as Greens suffer major slump
Two opposition parties have gained popularity at the government’s expense, a new poll commissioned by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) has found. The Greens, however, have fallen to their lowest numbers in six years. Topping the poll released on Thursday...
Faster rail connection between China and Finland
With the help of an improved rail connection, freight between China and Finland will be delivered in six or seven days rather than the current ten, according to the plans of United Transport and Logistics Company-Eurasian Rail Alliance (JSC UTLC...
Whatever happened to the world’s best education system?
Finland, which previously topped global education rankings, has seen its level of education among young people compared to 38 OECD countries drop to mid-table, a recent survey shows. The survey, compiled by the Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health...
Sweden’s shortest-lived PM given another shot to run country
Magdalena Andersson, the Chair of the Social Democratic Party who was prime minister for a few hours last week, has been appointed to lead a Social Democratic minority government as the country’s 34th prime minister. In the 349-seat parliament, Andersson,...
Finnish fur farming on the ropes
The days of Finland’s fur farming industry may well be numbered as a majority of Finns are turning against the practice, according to a recent poll that followed a damning Daily Mirror report. In the aftermath of the article on...
Lithuania says Belarus will keep testing West, urges NATO rethink
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Sunday (28 November) that the NATO military alliance needed to adjust its stance towards Belarus, whose military, he said, was becoming more integrated with Russian armed forces. Nauseda told a news conference with NATO...
Sweden’s first female PM resigns after hours in power
The newly elected Chair of the Social Democratic Party, Magdalena Andersson, became Sweden’s first female Prime Minister on Wednesday, only to resign just hours after she was appointed. Her confirmation as Prime Minister was sealed with the tightest of margins. According...
Finland to bid for OSCE chairmanship in 2025
Finland will bid for the chair of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2025, President Sauli Niinistö said on a visit to Germany. 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Summit in 1975. The Helsinki Final...
Sweden’s potential first female PM given more time to form government
Finance Minister and Chair of the Social Democratic Party, Magdalena Andersson, has been given time until Wednesday morning to gather enough support in parliament to form a government and secure her place as the country’s first female prime minister. Andersson...
Finland responds to Estonia’s call for COVID-19 vaccines
Finland will deliver 130,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by the end of November to Estonia after it requested help from other EU countries, Finland’s social affairs and health ministry has announced. In return, Estonia has promised to send the...
Finnish startup leads way in producing food without use of land, livestock
Solar Foods, a startup born in 2017 out of the research project by VTT Technical Research Centre and LUT University in Eastern Finland, has come up with a method to produce sustainable and pure single-cell protein from carbon dioxide and...
Finland will vote against EU climate delegated act
Finland will vote against the EU’s climate delegated act later this year because some aspects of the classification system for sustainable activities, known as taxonomy, concerning forest management are “difficult to understand and open to interpretation”, the government said in...
Finnish FM: Belarus standoff more military action than migrant crisis
The current situation on the border with Belarus should not be compared to Europe’s migration crisis from six years ago, since it is closer to military action, Finish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said in an interview with a group of...
In Sweden, forming a new government takes more time than expected
Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson has been given additional time to find support in parliament to form a government. Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlén has granted an extension until noon on 22 November. Last week, Ms Andersson succeeded Stefan Löfven as the...
Baltics pledge support to Poland over NATO’s Article 4
After joint consultations between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania presidents and a virtual meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, the three Baltic states said they would support Warsaw, or each other if they were to invoke Article 4. Poland earlier this...
Poland-Belarus border situation creates political storm in Finland
The situation on the Poland-Belarus border has sparked a political duel in Finland, with a clear divide emerging over the idea of building a fence at the Finnish-Russian border. The debate was kick-started when Kai Mykkänen, ex-Minister of Interior and...
Russia may finally ratify 2014 border agreement with Estonia
After a meeting between the Estonian and Russian foreign ministries, officials at the Estonian foreign ministry said Russia might be warming up to finally ratify the border agreement of 2014, the news agency ERR News reports. There have been no...
Finnish delivery company Wolt makes history
Tech startup Wolt, founded in 2014 and known for its food delivery app will be acquired by US delivery giant DoorDash, it was announced on Tuesday. The move was praised by the business community and across the political spectrum, including by...
Prime Minister Löfven resigns, paving way for first female PM
Outgoing Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, in office since 2014, handed his resignation letter to the speaker of parliament on Wednesday afternoon, likely opening the way for Finance Minister, Magdalena Andersson. Andersson, who took over the chairmanship of the Social...
Estonia: EU, NATO facing most severe crisis in past 30 years
In reference to the migrant situation at the Belarusian-Polish border and its implications, Estonian Defence Minister Kalle Laanet said its severity is unparalleled to anything the EU and NATO have faced in the last 30 years. Speaking to ERR News on Monday,...
Finnish universities to receive guidelines on how to deal with China
As the EU is preparing recommendations on cooperating safely with Chinese partners, Finnish authorities are already drawing up their own guidelines for universities and the scientific community. The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are...
Lithuania ups readiness of troops at Belarus border
Lithuania has upped troops’ preparedness on the border with Belarus, the country’s defence ministry said on Monday (8 November). The statement comes after hundreds of migrants have attempted to breach the Polish border, which Warsaw says is being facilitated by Belarusian officers....