Author: mediasolutionsnordicm

When the war in Ukraine broke out, the activation of the EU Temporary Protection Directive and equivalent national schemes enabled Nordic governments to react quickly and efficiently. During the past nine months, the Nordic countries have provided protection to 165,000 refugees from Ukraine. All countries have made great progress in receiving many refugees in a short period of time. At the same time, there are differences between the Nordic countries and the way they have implemented temporary protection. This has implications for the level of support and rights to which refugees from Ukraine are entitled. These and other findings are outlined…

Norway and Denmark will increase security and surveillance around their energy infrastructure sites after the alleged sabotage of Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Major leaks struck two underwater natural gas pipelines running from Russia to Germany, with experts reporting that explosions rattled the Baltic Sea beforehand. Norway — an oil-rich nation and Europe’s biggest supplier of gas — will strengthen security at its land and offshore installations, the country’s energy minister said. The Scandinavian country’s Petroleum Safety Authority also urged vigilance on Monday after unidentified drones were seen flying near Norway’s offshore oil and gas platforms. “The PSA has…

When the leaders of Denmark’s main political parties faced each other last week in the first televised debate of the election campaign, they disagreed along familiar party lines. But there was one subject they could all agree on, which united left and right: a controversial plan to outsource asylum seekers from Denmark to Rwanda. Last year the Danes approved new legislation to make such a move even possible, and in late summer the government of centre-left Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen inked a deal with the Rwandan government to “jointly explore” the possibility of sending “spontaneous asylum seekers” who arrive in Denmark to…

Denmark is holding a national election on Tuesday, expected to change the Scandinavian nation’s political landscape as new parties seek to enter parliament and others see their support dwindle. Neither the centre-left nor the centre-right is believed to be able to capture the 90-seat majority in the 179-seat Folketing legislature. That could leave a former prime minister who left his party to create a new one this year as the kingmaker if his votes end up being needed to form a new government. Domestic issues have dominated the campaign, ranging from tax cuts and a need to hire more nurses…

European governments are scrambling to prepare for this winter, with not much room to prevent a worst-case scenario of shortages and blackouts as the continent faces an acute energy crisis. “It is possible (European countries) may not have enough gas to get through the winter, especially if Russia (further) cuts our energy supply,” said Jaume Loffredo, a senior energy policy officer at the European Consumer Organisation. While gas prices have recently dropped due to unseasonably warm temperatures, nearly full EU storage, and lower-than-usual demand, a winter cold spell could quickly cause a problem. “We’re like somebody trying to do a…

The EU-wide relocation system launched in June and touted as a major step forward in the reform of migration policy has so far resulted in 117 asylum seekers being transferred across the bloc – out of an annual target that envisions 8,000 pledges. “We’re working very closely with all member states to ensure that we have in place a common solution,” a European Commission spokesperson said on Monday while announcing the numbers. “I know this number doesn’t seem like a lot but we need to keep in mind that we have 8,000 pledges as such.” The low figures come as asylum…

“I just don’t understand why the government treats us like criminals,” teacher Maria Nemes told Euronews. “I love my students. I love my colleagues. I love my high school.” Nemes is one of more than a dozen Hungarian teachers who have been sacked for “civil disobedience”. The 50-year-old English teacher was dismissed with “immediate effect” in November, after protesting the decision of local authorities to fire some fellow teachers for staging a protest. Anger among teachers has bubbled away for years over low wages and gruelling working hours, but new strike laws have pushed them into open conflict with the government. Budapest vowed…

Reindeer in Scandinavia are under threat as only 4 per cent of their grazing land is completely untouched by human encroachment, a new study has found. Intensive forestry, outdoor tourism, road and railway traffic, mining, and wind farms are all contributing to this loss of land. Dr Regina Lindborg, a professor from the department of physical geography and quaternary geology at Stockholm University, co-author of the study and coordinator of the project, said: “Grazing is a key process for maintaining plant biodiversity, even in the mountains. “So it was important for us to study the extent of these cumulative pressures with having the summer pastures in…

More than 450 Siberian fox cubs have been bred and released into the wild in the last twenty years in Norway. A breeding programme was initiated back in 2003 when there were probably no more than 50 arctic foxes left in the wild in Finland, Sweden and Norway combined. Now, new cubs are transported and released in the mountains of Troms, an area where has historically a lot of the foxes lived, with many of their abandoned dens still intact. Some are being cleared of snow, to make it easier for the incoming vulpines. “The area we are going to,…

The Scandinavian airline, SAS, announced that it has gone bankrupt a day after 1,000 pilots walked out on strike. On Tuesday, the airline voluntarily filed for ‘Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings’ in the United States as part of a restructuring plan. The move will allow the carrier to continue operating, despite facing financial problems. In the US, Chapter 11 is a mechanism allowing a company to restructure its debts under court supervision. SAS said its “operations and flight schedule are unaffected by the Chapter 11 filing, and SAS will continue to serve its customers as normal.” However, it acknowledged that the…