Joly crafting ‘Arctic foreign policy’ amid regional tensions, not a full strategy
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Mélanie Joly is readying an “Arctic foreign policy” aimed at preparing for a more tense time in international relations. Joly tells Bloomberg News that this will involve working closely with NATO peers, including Finland and Sweden, who recently joined the military alliance. Her officeContinue Reading
Leaders offer greetings to Denmark on Constitution Day
President To Lam on June 5 sent greetings to King Frederik X of Denmark on the occasion of Denmark’s Constitution Day (June 5) Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also extended congratulations to his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man sent a congratulatory message to SpeakerContinue Reading
Ombudsman says racism becoming established in Finnish politics
The ombudsman says that there were both positive and negative developments last year. Racism and hate speech threaten to become normalised in politics, according to Non-Discrimination Ombudsman Kristina Stenman in her annual report. Harsher rhetoric in politics has an impact on society as a whole, according to Stenman, after aContinue Reading
First Non-Ice Class Container Ship Receives Arctic Permit
The combination of seasonally ice-free waters and turmoil along traditional trade routes is diverting vessels into the Arctic. The first non-ice class Panamax containership has now received a permit for the Northern Sea Route. In what constitutes a first for Arctic shipping, a large conventional container ship has received aContinue Reading
Centre Party of Finland calls for government confidence vote over EU joint debt
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) has indicated that Finland would be willing to take on more EU joint debt if no other means of supporting Ukraine can be found. The opposition Centre Party has submitted an interpellation question to parliament over the government’s willingness to take on more European UnionContinue Reading
Norway Gas Scare Puts European Market on Edge
Prices jumped Monday as jittery traders responded to an unexpected cutoff in supply. Europe’s gas market has been jolted out of its slumber. An outage in key supplier Norway sent prices up Monday by the most this year, and uncertainty over the duration of repairs has traders on edge. AContinue Reading
US and EU countries must take measures in the investigation of the Nord Stream pipeline bombings
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has sent additional requests to the United States, Germany, France and Cyprus regarding terrorist acts committed against the interests of Russia and its citizens, including the undermining of the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines. The agency notes that the designated countries are partiesContinue Reading
Majority of Finns would tighten EU external borders
Asylum policy and support for Ukraine are two issues in which the views of a majority of voters and most candidates in the EU parliamentary election diverge. A new report by the Natopoll research project has found that people in Finland are far more in favour of turning back irregularContinue Reading
The New Arctic Frontier: Geopolitical Competition and Militarization of the Arctic
The earlier conflicts among arctic stakeholders included disputes over natural resources including fisheries, delineation, conflict between the USA and Canada over war and peacekeeping identities. Conflict between Norway and Sweden where the union king was considered threat to Norway’s autonomy. Where circumpolar states including Sweden, Norway, and Greenland remained aContinue Reading
Russia-China Arctic Partnership Bother NATO, Why?
The Arctic region is increasingly becoming a new frontier for geostrategic competition between the powers. Moscow and Beijing see eye-to-eye on the need to preserve the Arctic as “a territory of peace, low military-political tension, and stability,” as President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to China underlined. Russia and China willContinue Reading