This year’s Independence Day gala, which was set to take place at Helsinki’s Presidential Palace on 6 December, has been cancelled. According to a press release (siirryt toiseen palveluun) from the President’s Office, the event has been called off due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country. A separateContinue Reading
The Estonian government is set to decide Thursday afternoon formally on merging the Estonian Navy (Merevägi) vessels into one fleet with those of the civilian Police and Border Guard Board (PPA). Two separate operations centers will similarly be combined. Defense minister Kalle Laanet (Reform) and interior minister Kristian Jaani (Center),Continue Reading
Kaunas and Vilnius are on Thursday hosting events to commemorate 5,000 Jews from Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Wroclaw killed in the Ninth Fort of Kaunas 80 years ago. The government has said in a press release that delegations from the German, Austrian and Polish cities are expected to attend theContinue Reading
Magdalena Andersson has been approved by Sweden’s parliament as the country’s first ever female prime minister, after replacing Stefan Lofven as leader of the centre-left Social Democrats. Sweden is the only Nordic country never to have elected a woman as national leader before. Ms Andersson, who’s currently finance minister, didContinue Reading
Finland’s government will discuss the possible introduction of more restrictions aimed at curbing the recent uptick in Covid infections at a ministerial meeting early next week, Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) said on Wednesday. “The coronavirus situation is worrying,” Marin said. “It is now more important than ever that everyoneContinue Reading
Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, the speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, is on Tuesday leaving for France to take part in events marking the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Cmilyte-Nielsen, along with her Latvian and Estonian counterparts, Inara Murniece and Juri Ratas, is paying a three-day visit to France atContinue Reading
Finland’s Parliament on Tuesday approved a government proposal to establish Sallatunturi National Park in Finnish Lapland. The approximately 10,000-hectare area of diverse ecology is located along the country’s northeastern border with Russia, in close proximity to the Sallatunturi Nature Reserve, and will become Finland’s 41st National Park. The initiative toContinue Reading
The epidemiological situation in Lithuania is stabilizing, but it is not yet clear if the country is already past the peak of infections, Deputy Health Minister Ausra Bilotiene Motiejuniene has said. “We are in the third week of stable or not increasing numbers,” she told the public broadcaster LRT onContinue Reading
Estonian agencies practiced processing hundreds of daily asylum requests during a major exercise in 2019. While this aspect is considered today, the focus has shifted to defending the border in light of Belarus’ attack. Deputy Director of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) Egert Belitšev believes that an amendmentContinue Reading
Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö has confirmed that the country will seek the chairpersonship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2025, the 50th anniversary of the organisation’s founding conference in Helsinki. Speaking on Monday at a seminar held by the Körber Foundation during his visit toContinue Reading