Nordics & Baltics
Finland has most drug-related deaths among youth in Europe
Finland is the European country with the most drug-related deaths among people under 25 in proportion to its population, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has found. In its European Drug Report for 2022, the European monitoring...
Pre-pandemic reality returns to Finland’s border
Finland lifted the entry restrictions it imposed because of the pandemic on Friday, meaning everyone travelling to the country will no longer have to present COVID-related documentation. From 1 July, those travelling from non-EU and non-Schengen countries will no longer...
EU Court slams Lithuania’s Belarus migrant pushbacks
The Lithuanian law introduced in response to migrants coming from Belarus last year, which orders the automatic detention of people who cross irregularly into the country and denies the right to asylum, is incompatible with EU law, the Court of...
Third submarine cable to soon connect Estonia and Finland
Plans for the launch of a third submarine cable connection between Estonia and Finland have been agreed to by the Estonian and Finnish transmission system operators Elering and Fingrid in a letter of intent signed on Wednesday. Two high-voltage direct...
Three major Finnish companies announce Russian market exit
The three major Finnish companies, KONE, Nokian Tyres and Ponsse, announced their exit from the Russian market on Tuesday after already starting to phase out activities there. The KONE Corporation, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, announced...
Finland to broaden abortion rights in wake of Roe v Wade
An initiative pushing for loosening abortion requirements in Finland gathers steam as the Nordic country gains cross-party support to change its abortion law from the early 1970s. Parliament’s decision comes in response to a recent citizen’s initiative dubbed “The OwnWill2020”...
Most Finns oppose Turkey’s NATO demands
As support for NATO membership reaches record highs in Finland, the country’s people say they would not join the alliance if it meant giving in to Turkey’s demands, a new poll published on Monday suggests. Support for NATO membership among...
Finland’s new digital ID aims to bolster gender neutrality
Proving one’s identity is set to become possible next year through a digital identification app available for smartphones and tablets that aims to prevent gender-based discrimination and promote work-based immigration. The government has justified its legislative proposal that could see...
Former Danish liberal minister launches new right-wing party
Controversial former Integration minister Inger Støjberg created a new political party on Thursday, over a year after leaving the Liberal party due to a scandal. Støjberg, once a minister of the Liberal party, was sentenced to six months in prison...
Harassment accusations rattle Finnish parliament, media
A sexual harassment row broke out in Finland’s parliament on Thursday, causing ripples throughout politics and society. Jarmo Vähäkainu, the second vice-chair of the populist and nationalist Power Belongs to the People (VKK) party, published a picture of the Green...
Finnish economy hit by Ukraine war
Finland’s economy was booming before the Russian attack on Ukraine, but now the war is starting to take its toll as economic growth is expected to reach 1.7% this year but will slow down to 0.5% in 2023 based on...
Danes over 50 to be offered COVID-19 booster shot
Over 2.5 million Danes over 50 will be offered a booster jab against COVID-19 this autumn, declared Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a press conference on Wednesday. The cases of people with COVID-19 have been on the rise in...
PM pledges Denmark’s support for Ukraine’s EU candidacy
Denmark supports Ukraine’s status as an EU candidate country, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during an address to the Ukrainian Rada on Tuesday. Last week, the French, German, Italian, and Romanian heads of state visited Kyiv and publicly supported candidacy...
Finland to build world’s first factory producing regenerated fibre
Recycling and green transition took a step forward when a Finnish company announced its plans to build a factory re-using textile waste. New technology enables cotton-rich textile waste to be transformed into a new regenerated textile fibre. The factory, the...
Sweden, Denmark face ‘serious’ gas shortages
Swedish and Danish energy authorities issued an ‘early warning’ over gas shortages due to the reduced supplies of Russian gas on the European market. As Russia reduced its gas supplies to Germany by 60%, Sweden and Denmark issued the lowest...
Sweden, Finland discuss NATO application with Turkey
Turkey’s security concerns were discussed with ministers from Sweden and Finland at a meeting organised by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Monday. Relations between Turkey and Sweden soured last month after Ankara put forward a list of demands...
Finland shuts down Confucius Institute amid censorship, espionage accusations
A cooperation contract between Helsinki University and the Confucius Institute will be terminated following accusations of spreading Chinese soft power, conducting espionage, and an attempt to block discussions on Tibet. Helsinki University has hosted a Confucius Institute focused on teaching...
Denmark now backs EU enlargement, says Macron’s plan still unclear
Marking a change in tune, Copenhagen has now said it supports EU enlargement, particularly that of Ukraine as EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels to decide on the bloc’s future. “We support the European Commission’s opinion on granting...
Finnish armed forces oppose building wind farms over defence concerns
More wind farms should not be built in Eastern Finland as wind turbines distract radar operations along the 1,300-kilometre-long land border with Russia, according to the Finnish Defence Forces. Turbines over 50 metres tall or situated close to strategic areas...
Ukrainians illegally deported to Russia are exiles, Lithuania says
Lithuanian lawmakers on Thursday recognised Ukrainians expelled from their homes and forcefully deported to Russia by Moscow as exiles. On Thursday (16 June), the Lithuanian Seimas unanimously passed a resolution on the abduction and illegal deportation of Ukrainians by the...
Finland recommends fifth COVID booster for vulnerable patients
Following Stockholm’s lead, the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) called on people with a severely weakened immune system to take a fifth COVID-19 vaccine. People above 12 who are undergoing cancer treatment or have undergone organ transplant operations...
Lithuanian businesses hit by Chinese sanctions offered loans
Lithuanian businesses that suffered difficulties due to China’s sanctions can now apply for working capital loans, the economy ministry has announced. Read also: Bringing a gun to trade negotiations A stimulus financial facility prepared by the economy and innovation ministry is...
Finland should not wait for Sweden on NATO, says foreign committee chair
Finland should not tie itself to Sweden while both countries wait for their NATO application process to proceed, the chair of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Jussi Halla-aho, said on Tuesday. The comment by Halla-aho, a former chair of the...