Sanna Marin’s SDP in favour of expanding conscription to women
Finland’s conscription policy should treat all genders equally, according to responses from the Social Democrat (SDP) and Green parties to an Yle security policy survey sent to party leaders. Other parliamentary parties would keep conscription as it is, with female military service carried out on a voluntary basis, although theContinue Reading
Flag raising ceremony marks Estonia’s 105th Independence Day
Estonia’s blue, black and white flag was raised at 7:33 a.m. at Pikk Hermann Tower at Toompea on Friday to mark the start of Estonia’s 105th Independence Day. Crowds gathered at the foot of the tower in the Governor’s Garden and in the street below to watch the ceremony andContinue Reading
Nordic neighbours poking fun at Finnish stereotypes become social media hits
“Being Norwegian is just like being Finnish, but without the drunkenness.” This is how the popular Norwegian social media account helgi.and.erlend describes the differences between the two Nordic nations in a video captioned “Gotta love the Finns”. In the background of the video, as if to emphasise the point, aContinue Reading
Finland to unveil possible tank delivery to Ukraine on Thursday
Finland is to decide this week on how it will participate in a European project to deliver Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine to help defend itself against Russia. Yle has learned that the government will meet on Thursday to consider a proposal on the issue from the Ministry of Defence.Continue Reading
Swedish military intelligence: Risks for Swedish security have increased
The military’s intelligence and security service, known as Must said on Monday that Sweden is safer after applying to join Nato, stating that Sweden had received bilateral security assurances from several countries while the membership was still pending. But at the same time, Sweden’s military intelligence said that Russia’s militaryContinue Reading
Estonian Talk show: Economy not the main issue for parties in this election
Browsing through the Estonian political parties’ election manifestos, it is clear that the economy is not the main issue in the upcoming Riigikogu elections. Speaking on talk show “UV Faktor,” economics experts said, that when it comes to issues related to the Estonian economy, many of the parties propose toContinue Reading
Niinistö meets with Swedish, Norwegian PMs
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö meets on Wednesday with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe. The foreign and defence ministers of all three countries, including Pekka Haavisto (Green) and Mikko Savola (Cen) from Finland, will also participate in the mini-summit. The three-way Nordic conference willContinue Reading
Norway adds top-tier military experience to State Partnership Program
TRONDHEIM, Norway (2/20/23) – Celebrating one-half century of training together last week, Norway and the Minnesota National Guard further strengthened ties by formally pairing in the Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program. The addition of Norway to the 30-year-old, 100-nation security cooperation program adds a Nordic country withContinue Reading
In numbers: The food products in Sweden seeing the biggest price rises
In the first month of 2023, energy prices dipped by 27.4 percent, meaning inflation according to the CPI – total inflation including energy prices and interest rate changes – fell by 1.1 percent to 11.7 percent. Despite falling energy prices putting the brakes on inflation as a whole last month,Continue Reading
The race across Europe to build green steel plants
A small military town in Sweden’s frozen north is on course to produce Europe’s first commercial green steel. Giant diggers and excavators are powering through layers of mud, ice and snow at the site of a new steel plant just outside Boden, 900 km (559 miles) north of Stockholm. AtContinue Reading