Migration
Articles on migration.
FMs Lavrov and Støre call border agreement small yet important
Norway's and Russia's Foreign Ministers signed an agreement on 2 November making it much easier for 9,000 Norwegians and 45,00o Russians to visit each other.
The changes hidden behind the smokescreen
As the Iron Curtain came down, contacts between the Nordic region and Russia multiplied. Yet the image of the Eastern neighbour needs updating, even in the part of the Nordic region which has enjoyed the friendliest relationship - the Norwegian municipality of Sør-Varanger on the border with Russia. The nickel plant across the border has been a smokescreen both literally and figuratively.
Russian Arcady's weekly commute to Finland
Many travel the 400 kilometres between Helsinki and St Petersburg on business. Yet despite improved communications, a common labour market still is some time away.
Theme: Opening up the Northern borders
People in the Nordic region are used to visa-free travel and a common labour market, while the relationship with Russia has been characterised by closed opportunities. But these are new times. People in the Northern border region want freedom to travel and work in each other's countries. A visa-free zone could be the beginning of the tearing down of those barriers.
The hunt for highly skilled labour
How do you remain competitive when everybody wants to attract the highest qualified labour? Nordic Labour Journal has travelled around the world to hear both authorities and migrants state their case.
Nordic region balancing the need for labour and risk of dumping
It's a balance all the Nordic countries need to strike when they want to attract highly competent labour: how do employers gain easier access to necessary manpower, and how should countries protect their labour markets against social dumping?
Joint Nordic drive for more foreign labour
Nordic cooperation could help market the region as an attractive labour market for highly educated third-country nationals.
Indians discover there's more to Denmark than dairies
Denmark opened a Workindenmark office in New Dehli in October 2008. Now some Indians are slowly getting to know about this Nordic country. Danish authorities are holding back a larger recruitment campaign until they have more knowledge about what career opportunities exist for Indians in Denmark.
Finland's welfare system appeals to Indian IT engineers
Indian IT engineers Naveen Kumar Korupolu (32) and Basa Ravikiran (33) arrived in Helsinki from Hyderabad with their families five years ago. They have successfully fought off both long, dark winters and cultural differences. Finns are nice and life feels safe.
Towards a common EU integration policy
Integration policy is a national responsibility within the EU, but the Swedish presidency has made an effort to make it easier to compare just how well member states integrate new arrivals.
Immigration amplifies differences between Nordic countries
One of the things separating the Nordic countries from each other is what immigrant groups they have attracted, and how long they have stayed. Compared to many other European countries though, they have something in common: the refugee percentage is high.
Helping new arrivals realise their dreams
"I have been thinking lately that I have experience many others lack, which allows me some degree of authority to speak on what works and what doesn't when it comes to integration policy," says Nyamko Sabuni, Sweden's Minister for Integration and Gender Equality.
Immigration policy change: from humanism to pragmatism
The term refugee could be disappearing. People are deemed immigrants and allowed in if a country feels they could be useful. Current demography dictates a stimulation of labour immigration, while asylum policies are being tightened. Europe's migration policy is changing shape.
Holding on to the foreign workers
More and more Danish companies are increasing their drive to recruit foreign workers. Wind turbine producer Vestas has experienced the importance of creating a social network for foreign workers, and how important it is to help their spouses to find work too.
A new labour policy for the North
Norway should completely open up its three northernmost counties to labour immigration from Russia. The government also wants to end restrictions on labour from Bulgaria and Romania earlier than planned.
Theme: The hunt for manpower is on
Will there be enough manpower when economies grow year on year while populations are ageing? No, say many employers in the Nordic countries. Their warning is that lack of manpower will jeopardise economic growth and innovation. Governments too are on the alert. Welfare states are dependent on enough workers to keep ticking over.
Finland: New government wants increased immigration
Finland has one of the lowest immigration rates in the EU, while its population is ageing quicker than anywhere else in the Union. That does not bode well for the country's future labour market. Now the new government wants to increase labour immigration. But the situation for those already in the country must be improved first.
Labour shortage on everyone's lips
Are we running out of manpower? After years of economic boom in the Nordic countries, an increasing number of businesses say they can no longer expand simply because there are not enough qualified people to employ. Meanwhile, a demographic problem is lurking; the large groups of people born in the 1940s are about to retire.
Chasing nurses and sailors - Norway's ethical dilemma of importing workers
The lack of skilled workers is a big problem in Norway, where unemployment has fallen to less than two percent. Healthcare and shipping might seem like very different sectors, yet both are trying to attract foreign workers.
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