Posts Tagged ‘Nordic Nations’
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, looks set to break ranks with the other Nordic countries by recommending that Norway grant loans to Iceland before the Icesave issue is finally resolved with the Netherlands and the UK.
Aftenposten reports that not only are the Norwegians potentially interested in granting Iceland the promised loan through the IMF right away, but that Store’s government may also be willing to offer another separate loan to Iceland in co-operation with the EU.
Store’s timing seems to be deliberate, with his comments coming just a day before today’s meeting of the Nordic finance ministers in Denmark. So far all the other Nordic nations have said their support for Iceland will not be paid out before Icesave is completely off the agenda. Icesave will be on the agenda in Copenhagen today.
“Norwegian assistance is tied to the IMF package and in our opinion the IMF package is not tied to a solution to the Icesave issue as the conditions of the package stand,” Store told Aftenposten.
Store emphasised that the Nordic nations should not do anything to hinder Iceland’s IMF package—his comments a direct response to a Nordic neighbour’s opinion that the Icesave issue must be out of the way before any loan can come from that country to Iceland through the IMF. Store said the issue will be discussed today.
Store added that there is no sign that the British and Dutch have tried to stall the IMF’s work in Iceland; and a week ago the Fund’s chief, Dominique Strauss Kahn told the press he is ready and willing to continue with the Iceland package without a final agreement in the Icesave issue.
Tags: Aftenposten, Break, Copenhagen, Day Before Today, Denmark, Direct Response, Dominique Strauss Kahn, Emphasised, Finance Ministers, Foreign Minister, Gahr, Icesave, Imf Package, Loans, Neighbour, Netherlands, Nordic Countries, Nordic Nations, Norway, Norwegians
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Thursday, March 11th, 2010
An information sharing contract has been signed between the Nordic nations and the Bahamas, intended to hinder Nordic tax evasion.
The contract signed yesterday allows Nordic tax authorities access to information on taxes paid and deposits made by Nordic citizens in the Bahamas and will help them track and assess those trying to hide taxable assets overseas.
The contract is the latest in a joint Nordic campaign against tax fraud and was signed at the Danish Embassy in Paris yesterday.
The project has been enthusiastically endorsed by the OECD and has strengthened the position of the Nordic nations on the world stage, RUV reports.
Since project negotiations began in 2007, similar contracts have come into force with Aruba, Andorra, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, the Antilles, the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, the Cook Islands, Samoa and San Marino.
Denmark has also independently signed similar contracts with St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadine, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.
Tags: Antigua And Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Danish Embassy, Fraud Probe, Gibraltar, Grenadine, Guernsey, Information Sharing, Isle Of Man, Lucia St, Nordic Nations, Oecd, St Kitts And Nevis, Tax Authorities, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud, Taxable Assets, Turks And Caicos, Turks And Caicos Islands, World Stage
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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
A new report released yesterday ranks Iceland as the world’s innovation hotspot, stealing the crown from the USA.
The annual report released yesterday by INSEAD and the Confederation of Indian Industry sees the US fall from top to 11th and Iceland rise from last year’s 20th place up to first. All five Nordic nations feature in the top ten.
According to Soumitra Dutta, an INSEAD professor of business and technology, who oversaw the survey, the rankings show that size matters – although in this case the smaller the better, Business Week reports.
Dutta theorises that the internet is making a large domestic market less of a deciding factor for innovators to succeed, as the whole world is becoming one marketplace for new ideas. This combined with smaller nations’ ability to unite in supporting policies, institutions, and infrastructure that promote innovation is giving them the leading edge; at least in the West.
All of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are in the top ten and the biggest country at the top of the list is the Netherlands (8th) with its 16 million people.
This year’s report, financed by Canon India and released on March 3, evaluates 132 countries. Researchers used data from a number of sources, including the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and the UN, to gauge innovation inputs—things such as education and business climate—as well as outputs to quantify scientific and creative advances.
Here is the Top 10, with 2009’s rankings in brackets:
1. Iceland (20)
2. Sweden (3)
3. Hong Kong (12)
4. Switzerland (7)
5. Denmark (8)
6. Finland (13)
7. Singapore (5)
8. Netherlands (10)
9. New Zealand (27)
10. Norway (14)
Tags: Annual Report, Better Business, Brackets, Business Climate, Business Week, Confederation Of Indian Industry, Creative Advances, Denmark Finland, Infrastructure, Innovation Index, Innovators, Insead, Leading Edge, Nordic Countries Denmark, Nordic Nations, Norway, Size Matters, Stealing The Crown, World Bank, World Economic Forum
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Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Last week saw the Sami people of the Nordic nations and their Russian counterparts come together to observe Sami People’s Day.
February 6th commemorates the date in 1917 where the first joint Sami congress was held in Trondheim, Norway. This congress represented the first time that both Norwegian and Swedish Sami had come together across their borders to work together in finding solutions for common problems. The resolution for the 6th of February celebrations was officially passed in 1992 in Helsinki at the 15th Sami congress. Since 1993 Sweden, Norway and Finland have all recognized this date as Sami National Day with cross-border cooperation continuing to this day.
The Sami are the only indigenous minority inside the European Union though many are now leaving their traditional homelands in the far north of the region. In Finland some 10 percent of the Sami population has moved to the urban Helsinki region in the past few years.
YLE reports that in 1996 the Sami Parliament was established to coordinate cultural autonomy for its people, which is guaranteed under constitution by Finland and includes cooperation with the Swedish and Norwegian governments. Foremost among the tasks for the Sami Parliament is the preservation of the Sami, or Lappish, language which is spoken by just 0.03 percent of the population in Finland; where speakers have halved since 1950.
Around 40,000 Sami live in Norway, with 20,000 in Sweden and some 7,000 in Finland. In addition there are an estimated 2,000 Sami in Russia.
Tags: 10 Percent, Autonomy, Borders, Cross Border Cooperation, European Union, February Celebrations, Finding Solutions, Finland, Governments, Helsinki Region, Lappish, Nordic Nations, Parliament, Russian Counterparts, Sami Parliament, Sami People, Sami Population, Sweden Norway, Traditional Homelands, Trondheim Norway
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Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Icelandic Foreign Minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson this evening said he believes it would be very difficult for the Nordic nations to freeze their loans to Iceland.
He said that it is not only the Nordic sense of togetherness that would complicate matters, but also the speeches and sentiments coming from Scandinavia in recent weeks and months that would make a U-turn embarrassing for Scandinavia and a heavy body-blow to Iceland.
He went on to point out that despite the President’s decision to send the Icesave Bill to a public vote, the bill has nonetheless become law – at least until such time as the public vote takes place. If the public then vote the law down, the previous Icesave law would come back into effect. Although the August Icesave law proved unsatisfactory for the British and Dutch governments, it did nonetheless categorically state that Iceland will reimburse the two countries’ Icesave losses.
The Nordic loans were, despite assurances, always dependant on Iceland’s parliament adopting an Icesave solution and the President’s potential for complicating the issue was hardly taken into account at the time. Skarphedinsson conceded that there would likely be no diplomatic crisis between Iceland and Scandinavia if the loans were to be refused because of Icesave. The Scandinavian countries have, he said, always treated Iceland fairly and their leaders have all agreed, in principle, that Icesave should not affect their relationships with Iceland.
Tags: Assurances, Body Blow, Dutch Governments, Foreign Minister, Iceland, Icesave, Loans, Losses, Nordic Nations, Ossur, Parliament, Principle, Public Vote, Relationships, Scandinavia, Scandinavian Countries, Sense Of Togetherness, Sentiments, Speeches, U Turn
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Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Iceland places top on the new World Economic Forum ranking of nations by gender equality. Former pole sitter, Norway is pushed into third. With Finland in second and Sweden in fourth, it is a strong showing from the Nordic countries.
The list ranks 134 countries and is intended to measure how nations split responsibility and opportunity between the sexes. Iceland’s rise on the list can partly be attributed to education and women’s participation in politics. The most important example being that the ratio of women in parliament has increased from 33 to 43 percent since the last rankings were made.
A statement from the Innovation Centre of Iceland said that Iceland leads the world in women’s participation in politics; but that measured purely on parity of wages between the sexes, Iceland ranks a mere 50th on the list. Iceland is only 46th on the list when it comes to women at the head of large companies, Visir.is reports.
Tags: Education, Excel, Finland, Gender Equality, Iceland, Innovation Centre, Leads, Nordic Countries, Nordic Nations, Norway, Parity, Parliament, Participation In Politics, Pole Sitter, Ranking Of Nations, Sexes, Sweden, Wages, Women Politics, World Economic Forum
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Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
The predicted life expectancy of Icelandic men is the highest in the Nordic countries. In addition to this, Icelandic women come a close second to the Swedes. The predicted life expectancy of a newborn boy in Iceland today is 79.6 years – a Nordic record.
This information comes from a new Nordic statistics document which combines figures from the five Nordic countries, as well as the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Aland Islands. Finnish and Danish men can expect to live 76.3 years, which is the shortest life expectancy of the sovereign Nordic nations.
The lives of Greenlandic men is still shorter though, Visir.is reports – with life expectancy in 2007 of just 66.3 years.
The figures reveal that 80 percent of Icelandic men do not smoke, and 87 percent of Swedish men do not smoke (although the popular Swedish snus mouth tobacco is not mentioned).
The most popular name for newborn boys in Iceland is still Jón; while in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the most popular is Lucas.
Tags: 3 Years, 6 Years, Aland Islands, Danish Men, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Icelandic Women, Life Expectancy, Newborn Boy, Newborn Boys, Nordic Countries, Nordic Men, Nordic Nations, Nordic Record, Nordic Statistics, Norway, Swedes, Swedish Men, Tobacco
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Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
There is an increasing number of parliament members in Iceland deciding against the Icesave-agreement, according to the news source Bloomberg. 34 members are currently expected to vote against the proposition. Last month, a straw poll indicated that 33 members out of 63 would be against. In an interview with Bloomberg, Minister of Finance Steingrimur J. Sigufsson said that he is not panicking over the vote.
According to Bloomberg, Iceland will likely not receive any loans from the International Monetary Fund or other Nordic nations until the Icesave deal is finished and mutual agreements have been made with Britain and the Netherlands. Sigfusson says it is not possible to tell when the talks in parliament will be finished and says the third round of talks will continue sometime next week.
Tags: Bloomberg, Iceland, International Monetary Fund, Loans, Members Of Parliament, Minister Of Finance, Mutual Agreements, Netherlands, News Source, Nordic Nations, Parliament, Parliament Members, Straw Poll, Vote
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Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
It has been a busy week in the hinterlands of northern Afghanistan, where soldiers from the Nordic nations were engaged in heavy fighting. Swedish and Finnish soldiers were attacked during a routine evening patrol 40km west of Mazar-i-Sharif, where the ISAF force led by Sweden is stationed.
When the patrol began taking fire outside of Aqchah, the soldiers called for reinforcements and slugged it out with the militants. Three of the attackers were killed and two were injured, according to The Local, during the skirmish that lasted through the night and into the morning hours. One of the attackers was captured and taken for interrogation.
There are between 40 and 50 Swedish personnel stationed in Aqchah. The Swedes were driving armoured vehicles that gave them the protection needed to return fire. Once reinforcements arrived with their Combat Vehicle 90, it was all but over for the ambushers, who continued intermittent fire fights throughout the night.
Fortunately, no Nordic soldiers were injured during the fight. Swedish military spokespeople were uncertain why the Nordic unit was attacked, though it was probably connected to the upcoming Afghan elections set for the end of August. In recent weeks the number and frequency of attacks against foreign troops has sharply increased.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt admitted the situation in northern Afghanistan is neither better nor worse than before. “I visited the Swedish troops a few months ago and I know for a fact that the area has been problematic before. But the violence is likely increased leading up to the election,” he told Swedish news agency TT from Kabul, where he is due to meet President Hamid Karzai this weekend.
Tags: Afghan Elections, Attackers, Carl Bildt, Combat Vehicle, Fire Fights, Foreign Minister, Hamid Karzai, Hinterlands, Interrogation, Isaf Force, Mazar, Nordic Nations, Northern Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai, Reinforcements, Skirmish, Spokespeople, Swedes, Swedish News, Swedish Troops
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Friday, June 26th, 2009
Authorities from four Nordic nations cooperated in a secret sting operation tracking Scandinavians distributing and downloading child pornography. After a month of legwork, the inter-Nordic investigation raided dozens of addressed and arrested many people.
The secret investigation was named Operation Viking, and involved agencies from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The mission was kept secret from other law agencies so the paedophiles couldn’t destroy evidence if word leaked out. After tracking dozens of people who were involved in online child pornography, police have so far raided 20 homes in Denmark, 15 home in Norway, and 23 addresses in Sweden and Finland.
The Copenhagen Post reports the suspects who were arrested were using peer-to-peer online software such as Limewire and Kazaa to share child porn. Deputy Superintendent Sten Sorensen from the National IT Investigation Centre (NITEC) stated that so far 13 of the arrested suspects admitted possessing child pornography, and ten of those admitted distributing it.
Police confiscated computers during the raids and are now examining them for further leads and hard evidence. Sorensen said that most of the suspects currently being questioned will probably end up being released, since police are only seeking to detain those directly involved in child abuse.
In Sweden, the IT-crimes section of the National Investigation Department stated “The raid has been under preparation during the entire spring in cooperation with our Nordic colleagues and eleven local Swedish police authorities. The preparations have worked very well and we’re going to continue with our Nordic cooperation.”
Tags: Child Pornography, Copenhagen Post, Crimes Section, Deputy Superintendent, Hard Evidence, Internet Child, Investigation Department, Kazaa, Limewire, National Investigation, Nordic Colleagues, Nordic Cooperation, Nordic Nations, Paedophiles, Police Authorities, Scandinavians, Secret Investigation, Sorensen, Sting Operation, Swedish Police
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Monday, June 15th, 2009
Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir declared after a meeting in Egilsstadir, east Iceland, yesterday with her counterparts from the other Nordic countries that they were positive towards Iceland’s plan to apply for membership to the European Union.
Tags: Counterparts, East Iceland, European Union, Nordic Countries, Nordic Nations, Prime Minister
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Monday, June 15th, 2009
At a meeting of Nordic Prime Ministers held in Egilsstaðir, East Iceland, on 14 June, Icelandic PM Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir reported that the Icelandic parliament Althingi was currently dealing with a parliamentary resolution on application by Iceland for EU accession.
Tags: Althingi, East Iceland, Eu Accession, European Co, Nordic Nations, Parliament, Parliamentary Resolution, Prime Ministers
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Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
Rescuers are still searching for signs of an Air France jet which disappeared off the coast of Brazil yesterday. The flight was en route from Brazil to France and was carrying 228 people from all over the world.
Among the missing passengers are three Norwegians and one individual each from Denmark, Iceland and Sweden.
The whereabouts of the plane is still unknown, although search planes in the area have reported seeing unidentified debris in the sea.
According to an Air France spokesman, the plane almost certainly crashed and no survivors should be expected.
“Air France expresses its deepest sympathy to the relatives and friends of the passengers and crew who were on board this flight,” the airline said in a statement on its website.
Tags: Air France, Airline, Brazil Air Disaster, Debris, Deepest Sympathy, Denmark, Nordic Nations, Norwegians, Relatives, Rescuers, Search Planes, Signs, Spokesman, Survivors, Sweden
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Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Johanna Sigurdardottir, Prime Minister of Iceland, said in Iceland’s Althingi parliament yesterday that the country’s economy has not been adversely affected by the delay in payment of the second part of the IMF loan, as the first instalment has not been spent. The current goal remains to get the delayed second portion of the loan paid to Iceland in July.
“Some people have been saying that this is having an effect on the exchange rate of the krona – but it actually makes no difference when the loan is paid out because the country’s current finances are perfectly adequate to back the krona as long as the current exchange restrictions are in place,” Sigurdardottir said.
She went on to explain that if Iceland had received the due second payment already it would be costing the country money in interest. As it is, the money from the first payment from the IMF and other Nordic nations is still sitting unused in a bank account.
Sigurdardottir’s comments came in response to a question by Einar K. Gudfinnsson, and Independence Party MP. His question concerned the delay to the second payment, mbl.is reports. He said it was a question of trust in the nation and the IMF’s delay tactics could well have a strong effect on the Central Bank’s upcoming policy rate decisions. Gudfinnsson said the government’s answers so far have been very unclear.
The Prime Minister responded that there have been several reasons for the delay in talks with the IMF. Among them is the need to make progress in finalising the recapitalisation of the banks before the loan will be paid – which can hopefully be at the beginning of July.
Tags: Althingi, Banks, Current Exchange, Delay Tactics, Economy, Einar, Exchange Rate, Imf Loan, Independence Party, Instalment, Johanna, Krona, Mp, Nordic Nations, Parliament, People, Prime Minister Of Iceland, Question Of Trust, Rate Decisions, Recapitalisation
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Sunday, May 24th, 2009
The annual meeting of Nordic Prime Ministers will take place this year in Egilsstadir, eastern Iceland on 14-15 June.
Iceland takes charge of the Council of Nordic Ministers this year, meaning that Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir has to host the spring meeting. The meeting will also be attended by Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the new Danish Prime Minister; Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Frederik Reinfeldt, the Swedish Prime Minister and Matti Vanhanen, the Prime Minister of Finland.
Along with the Prime Ministers, Halldor Asgrimsson, chairman of the Council of Nordic Ministers and Sinikka Bohlin, President of the Nordic Council will also attend the meeting, mbl.is reports.
According to a press release from the Nordic Council, the meeting will touch on a variety of important issues affecting the Nordic nations – among them the topic of Iceland’s preparations for a possible European Union application.
The last pan-Nordic meeting of Prime Ministers took place in Iceland this February.
Tags: Annual Meeting, Danish Prime Minister, East Iceland, European Union, Frederik, Halldor Asgrimsson, Jens Stoltenberg, Johanna, Lars, Lokke, Matti Vanhanen, Nordic Council, Nordic Ministers, Nordic Nations, Press Release, Prime Minister Of Finland, Prime Minister Of Norway, Prime Ministers, Rasmussen, Swedish Prime Minister
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009
Google is predicting Norway or Turkey to win the Eurovision Song Contest next weekend. Google opened a page that predicts the Eurovision winner this year using the iGoogle “Predictor” gadget. Based on Google search data, the tool shows how popular each Eurovision participant is and then calculates the scores they would get if the voting took place the day you go to the site.
Fifty percent of the score on Eurovision night comes from a professional jury so we can’t predict what their vote will be. Turkey has been the clear leader so far in Google’s poll, but it seems that the Norwegian contender is gaining momentum. Of the other Nordic nations, Denmark and Sweden are on the top 10 list, Finland is in 17th and Iceland in 36th.
For more inormation on the Google Eurovision Prediction
Tags: Contender, Denmark, Eurovision Contest, Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision Winner, Finland, Gadget, Gaining Momentum, Google, Google Google, Google Search, Nordic Nations, Norway, Participant, Professional Jury, S Poll, Score, Search Data, Turkey Neck, Vote
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