On Wednesday, the Riigikogu voted in favor of giving Prime Minister-designate Kaja Kallas (Reform) a mandate to form a new government. 59 members of the Riigikogu voted in favor and 38 against. Kallas had not received a mandate on Tuesday, as the day’s Riigikogu session ended before a vote couldContinue Reading
Ilta-Sanomat has a survey on attitudes to immigration, which is at the top of the agenda for some in Finland. They found that 52 percent of respondents would like to increase work-based immigration, with 28 percent wanting to keep it at the same level it is now. The issue isContinue Reading
The Åland islands occupy a special position in Finland, with a demilitarised status that means no armed forces can be stationed there and, unlike male citizens from elsewhere in Finland, Ålanders cannot be conscripted. Finland does, however, have the obligation to defend Åland if necessary. There are MPs in theContinue Reading
Viron asevoimien komentaja, kenraali Martin Herem tekee työvierailun Suomeen 11. huhtikuuta. Vierailua isännöi Puolustusvoimain komentaja, kenraali Timo Kivinen. Vierailun aikana keskustellaan muun muassa Suomen ja Viron välisestä puolustusyhteistyöstä, ja Suomen Nato-jäsenyyden sotilaallisen yhteensovittamisen etenemisestä. Vierailuohjelmaan sisältyy tutustuminen Merivoimien toimintaan Rannikkoprikaatissa. Vierailunsa aikana kenraali Herem tapaa myös puolustusministeri Antti Kaikkosen.Continue Reading
Spain has deployed advanced Norwegian-made Nasams surface-to-air defence missiles in Estonia as part of its commitment to NATO in the Baltic region. The Nasams system will protect the Amari air base, where NATO fighters operate as part of the Alliance’s rotating patrol shifts over the airspace above the Baltic statesContinue Reading
A record number of super-rich Norwegians are abandoning Norway for low-tax countries after the centre-left government increased wealth taxes to 1.1%. More than 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv. This was more than the total number of super-rich peopleContinue Reading
The Wagner military group defector Andrej Medvedev will be returned to Norway from Sweden, Swedish police confirmed on Friday. On Thursday evening, the Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osetshkin announced that Medvedev had been arrested in Sweden. According to Oseshkin, Medvedev took the bus to Gothenburg because the price ofContinue Reading
Sweden is set to hold its biggest military exercise in over 30 years. Sweden to hold biggest military exercise since 1989 Sweden is set to hold its biggest military exercise in over three decades on April 24th. Around 26,000 people are set to take part in the Aurora 23 exercise,Continue Reading
The exercise called “Secure Arctic 2023” included 16 scenarios and was held in nine Russian Arctic regions, from Murmansk in the west to Chukotka in the east. More than 60,000 people were engaged in training activities, the Emergency Ministry (Emercom) informs. The training was held only few weeks before RussiaContinue Reading
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) used the opening session of the XV Riigikogu to announce the resignation of the outgoing Reform-Isamaa-SDE coalition. Kallas will stay on as prime minister, as will two of the three parties (her party and SDE) who made up the outgoing administration. The announcement is oneContinue Reading