
Arctic Swedish mine poses threat to indigenous Sami
The indigenous reindeer-herding Sami people in northern Sweden say they are facing an existential threat from an iron-ore mine billed as a pivotal shift towards the EU's green transition.
Thursday
2nd Feb 2023
The indigenous reindeer-herding Sami people in northern Sweden say they are facing an existential threat from an iron-ore mine billed as a pivotal shift towards the EU's green transition.
New year, new Swedish leadership in the European Council. And in 2023 political pariahs, once associated with violent racists and swastika-wearing Nazi sympathisers, are dangerously close to the helm.
Free-market Sweden was scrambling as it took over the EU presidency this week to defuse ever more explosive calls for EU state subsidies — to match the Joe Biden's US Inflation Reduction Act.
Europe's first mainland satellite launch port is taking shape amid promises to launch reusable rockets. But the Sami, a local indigenous population, are increasingly worried about the spreading of the militarisation of the Arctic.
Half a kilometre down a mine some 150km north of the article circle, Sweden's centre-right energy and industry minister Ebba Busch holds up a large rock of iron ore.
"If we want to safeguard our national security in the light of Putin's invasion of Ukraine with all its wider implications, we all have to contribute", said the Danish minister of labour.
Even those EU citizens who have not encountered a lot of difficulties are worried about the cost of living (91 percent), with 96 percent of those who deal with difficulties most of the time worried too.
Sweden is demanding Hungary ratify its Nato accession, following fears Budapest may leverage rule of law and frozen EU funds in exchange.
Turkey and Sweden have hit a wall in talks on Nato accession, with some predicting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won't give way till July.
How should democratic states co-operate with authoritarian governments in the future? My organisation, Democracy Reporting International, has studied the security strategies of 13 democratic governments to understand how they see this relationship.
The lead rapporteur on asbestos, Danish MEP Nikolaj Villumsen, responds to EUobserver's two-part investigation.
The EU Commission has watered-down a broad political initiative —but now governments of member states hold the key to what the EU should do. Some member states and regions have adopted asbestos strategies of some kind, from Poland to Flanders.
Sweden won't make any pledges to relocate asylum seekers under a French-inspired EU plan because there is no legal basis, says Sweden's ambassador to the EU. But Sweden's new right-wing government is also tightening migration rules.
Ukraine and a looming economic recession is set to dominate the upcoming Swedish EU presidency, which takes over at the start of next year. Sweden's ambassador to the EU, Lars Danielsson, laid out some of its priorities.
Where once working men in heavy industry were diagnosed with cancers related to a more direct exposure to asbestos, now women in professions such as teaching, nursing and other occupations are being diagnosed, as well as young people.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has turned the thumbscrews on Sweden by personally naming who he wants Swedish judges to hand over in return for Nato membership.
Denmark's anti-piracy mission in Gulf of Guinea was launched with such haste that no protocols were made with the Nigerian government. So no plan was in place if Denmark killed or captured pirates — likely to be Nigerian nationals.
Norway opposes the EU proposal to set a dynamic price ceiling for natural gas transactions, instead strongly advocating for commercial agreements to tackle the energy crisis, the country's minister of oil and energy Terje Aasland said.
Few took notice when a 4.2-km subsea cable in the Arctic Ocean vanished without trace in April 2021, but these days undersea infrastructure security has become a hot topic.
Concern is growing Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is delaying ratification of Finland and Sweden's Nato accession for the sake of "dirty political games".
Sputnik and Russia Today can be accessed from any computer via a virtual private network. The problem is that the European Court of Justice is deciding what we — as European citizens — should have access to.
Measuring stations connected to the Swedish National Seismic Network (SNSN) detected powerful underwater explosions close to the leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. Poland has already declared it "sabotage".
Finland says there has not yet been a dramatic increase in Russian nationals trying to enter Finland from Russia, noting just over 4,800 Russian nationals crossed the land border on the day of Vladimir Putin's announcement of the draft.
Sweden and Finland are counting on further talks with Turkey to unlock their Nato accession, as Western diplomats wonder what Ankara really wants.
During the election campaign, Sweden has taken a sharp and surprising turn to the right. Keen on seizing power from the ruling Social Democrats, the conservative block has sought the aid of a far-right party, the formerly neo-Nazi Sweden Democrats.
As a Green MEP, ex-environment minister and former vice prime-minister of Sweden, Isabella Lovin spent many years advocating for ocean conservation and the welfare of fisheries dependent communities. The UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon was all words, no action.
It would be unwise to stop letting Russians in. Europe's aim is to stop the war in Ukraine and for Russia to withdraw completely from Ukraine. And that can only happen if Russian citizens start resisting the war.
Russian citizens were circumventing the European airspace ban by driving to Helsinki airport, which was being used as a hub to fly to other tourist destinations. Finland is now restricting those border crossings.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said a total ban on tourist visas will not be supported by Berlin — adding that many refugees do not agree with the Russian regime.
The Swedish government has agreed to extradite a Turkish citizen with Kurdish roots wanted for credit card fraud to Turkey, amid the backdrop of Turkey's Nato threat.
Finnish and Estonian leaders want EU countries to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens in protest at the war against Ukraine.
International donors are playing hide and seek. Instead of stepping up their assistance programmes, richer nations are cutting overseas aid, or reallocating funds from other parts of the world towards the Ukraine crisis.
A legal battle between locals on the one hand and the state and the labour youth organisation on the other side postponed the inception of the memorial in remembrance of the victims of Anders Behring Breivik.