Regions — Nordic Labour Journal

Parikkala goes for maids, whitefish and an unusual sculpture park

(May 26, 2022) There is an old saying that "the maids from Parikkala and the whitefish from Simpeljärvi are better than anywhere else". The maid is now a sculpture in the city centre while the whitefish is swimming in the lake. But a sculpture park with 255 concrete statues doing yoga is by far the biggest draw.

The train to Russia stopped running. Lappeenranta limps on.

(Apr 25, 2022) The borderless Nordic region turned out to be an illusion during the pandemic. It hit the Øresund region, border trade between Sweden and Norway and the citizens of Haparanda and Tornio. But Finland has an eastern border where traffic has ceased because of the pandemic. Today the war in Ukraine has made the situation even worse for Lappeenranta – the city with the closest links with Russia.

The Faroe Islands: A country without prisons

(Jan 28, 2022) If you are sentenced to more than 18 months in prison in the Faroe Islands, you will suffer the additional penalty of being sent to Denmark to serve your sentence. Because there are no prisons in the Faroe Islands.

Islands with their own point of view

(Dec 10, 2021) The Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland see the Nordic cooperation as a stepping stone to the outside world. But they also bring plurality to the Nordic table by enhancing awareness of different governance arrangements, peoples and their rights.

Fredrik Karlström works hard to make Åland more diversified

(Dec 10, 2021) Fredrik Karlström has become a veteran of Nordic labour market cooperation. The Minister for Industry and Trade in Åland’s government pops up in pictures everywhere in the Nordic Labour Journal archives. The first was taken in 2012, where he poses with Nordic colleagues on the quayside in Longyearbyen in Svalbard.

Will Greenland get the mining adventure off the ground?

(Dec 08, 2021) Greenland is about to introduce a range of reforms aimed at creating a well-functioning labour market and a stable framework for foreign investments in industries like mining.

Hybrid work: Nordic border commuters face income tax headache

(Dec 07, 2021) Hybrid work became a solution for many companies during the Corona pandemic. But people commuting across borders risked being taxed in a different country because they were working from home. The Nordic Border Barriers Council is on the case.

Nordic cooperation – a must-have or nice-to-have?

(Jun 29, 2021) The pandemic has led to increased polarization between the Nordic countries and trust between Nordic citizens has fallen. This is particularly true for those living far apart. In border regions, where people know each other, it has been less damaged.

100 years of autonomy: Åland celebrates

(Jun 29, 2021) Åland is marking 100 years of autonomy from Finland with year-long celebrations. Not everyone wanted the autonomy solution at first, but it has turned out to be a winning ticket allowing Ålanders to create a prosperous island society. Yet Åland with its shipping and tourism industries has been hard hit by the pandemic.

Greenland chooses new government in protest against controversial mining

(Apr 29, 2021) Greenland’s natural resource fairytale must not come at the expense of Greenlanders’ health, welfare and job opportunities. That was the clear signal from voters as they went to the polls to on 6 April 2021 and got a new coalition government.

Finland and Sweden: one year, two cities, one closed border

(Mar 24, 2021) In Sweden, the talk was about Finland “closing the border to Sweden”. In Finland, it was called “necessary domestic border controls”. It has been more than a year since the Corona pandemic changed everyday life in the most integrated region of the Nordics – the twin cities of Tornio and Haparanda.

Elves, dogs and reindeer suffer as tourists disappear from Arctic Circle

(Dec 10, 2020) There seems to be more visitors to the post office than anywhere else in Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus Village – despite the risk of infection. Auli Sihvo has worked there for 20 years and seen how Santa has improved Lapland's commercial pulling-power.

War destitution created Lapland's tourism boom. It began here.

(Dec 10, 2020) The tourism industry in Finnish Lapland has a lot to thank Eleanor Roosevelt for. The presidential widow’s visit to Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle set in motion an international Lapland industry. This year is the 70th anniversary of her visit.

A “Nordic”, independent Scotland post-Brexit?

(Dec 10, 2020) The last time the Scots went to the polls to vote for or against independence from the United Kingdom, there was speculation whether an independent Scotland would seek to link up with the Nordic region. Next year things might get serious.

Has the Corona crisis damaged the Nordic cooperation?

(Jun 14, 2020) Will the Nordics emerge strong after the Corona crisis, or has their cooperation been weakened by different forces triggered by the pandemic? The answer is, as so often is the case, complicated.

The Öresund Bridge is 20, and gets a sub-sea equivalent

(Jun 13, 2020) The bridge linking two Nordic countries is 20 years old this summer. The link has been important for the Öresund region’s development. It is also important for the massive project of securing a permanent link between Zealand and Germany.

"Like a Berlin Wall between Haparanda and Tornio"

(Jun 13, 2020) When the border between Finland and Sweden closed, the entire common market for the whole of Tornedalen disappeared – goods, services, labour and culture. The hospitality and retail sectors are seriously affected. Those who have been furloughed or served notices are starting to fall into unemployment.

Closed borders trigger unemployment in Sweden

(Jun 12, 2020) Sweden’s biggest cities have been the worst hit by the pandemic, and in particular Stockholm. Infection rates have remained low in Sweden's border areas, but municipalities there are struggling economically because the borders have closed.

Schleswig-Holstein – from conflict to peaceful border commute

(Jun 08, 2020) Some 15,000 people commute to jobs across the border between Denmark and Germany, which is 100 years old this year. That makes the border region one joint labour market, yet one with widely differing legislation and workplace cultures on either side.

National decisions have major consequences for border regions

(Apr 15, 2020) Activate the networks, develop the dialogues, identify the updates. These are necessary and urgent tasks for the Nordic border region information services, thrown up by the corona crisis. Öresunddirekt in Malmö remains closed to visitors. Behind doors, there is plenty of action.