Co-operation
- Nordic municipalities hunting for solutions
- What happens when the local school is in danger of closing down? When the municipality lacks people to fill vacancies in the health and social care sector? These are the challenges facing Nordic municipalities. How do we solve them?
- Municipal Denmark to unite freedom and control
- “Setting free” is the topic of the day in Danish municipal and national politics. It is seen as a possible key to delivering welfare services to citizens despite fewer resources and labour shortages. Helsingør municipality has had good experiences, but the upcoming local elections could throw a spanner in the works.
- Finland's April elections a test for local power structure
- Finland holds municipal elections in April. At the same time, there are council elections in 21 so-called wellbeing services counties. After the healthcare reform, they will be responsible for social and healthcare services. But interest in running as a candidate and in voting seems to be falling. Perhaps due to a worsening economy and reduced municipal powers. Or because elections have become too frequent.
- Municipal Nordics face common challenges
- Municipalities across the Nordic region are under pressure from ageing populations, labour shortages and rising costs. The challenge is to deliver quality services in line with residents' growing expectations, according to the Nordic municipal organisations.
- Who will look after Sweden’s growing elderly population as birth rates fall?
- Between 2013 and 2023, the number of people in Sweden aged 25 to 60 rose by 455,000. By 2033, that number is expected to grow by a further 13,000 people. There is a similar development in the rest of the Nordics and the EU, which for many municipalities means severe labour shortages.
- Nordic police cooperation – from policy to reality
- Criminal networks operate where there is money, across borders. A new police station on the actual border between Norway and Sweden will soon be inaugurated, and in Malmö, there is an operations centre staffed by both Danish and Swedish police.
- Finland’s Minister of Cooperation: Put young people first in difficult times
- A father of five children, young people and education are among Minister of Cooperation Anders Adlercreutz’s areas of expertise. These are also among the focus areas for the Nordic countries in the coming year.
- Karen Ellemann: Nordic cooperation more important than ever
- The Arctic has gone from being a region characterised by peaceful cooperation to a geopolitical flashpoint. This week, the Nordic Council of Ministers launched its tenth Arctic programme during the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø. It allocates 30 million Danish kroner (€4m) over three years to strengthen social, economic and environmental sustainability.
- Iceland facing watershed moment as PM calls snap elections
- Iceland is heading for snap elections in November after the right-left coalition of Bjarni Benediktsson collapsed in October over a range of disagreements. Political scientists were not surprised and some predict a watershed moment in Icelandic politics.
- Denmark cracks down on social dumping and money laundering
- Danish authorities have introduced tighter legislation and lawsuits to stop cooperation between gangs and lawyers in cases of money laundering and social dumping.
- Claes-Mikael Ståhl: Money and solidarity needed for the green transition
- Right-wing populists are gaining ground in Europe and if they get more power in the Parliament, ambitions for the green transition and for a social and just Europe risk being pushed back. "We worry about even more push-backs in the future," says Claes-Mikael Ståhl, the European Trade Union Congress Deputy General Secretary.
- EU and Nordics cooperate on energy poverty
- New EU rules oblige the Nordic countries to ensure that energy crises do not lead to increased poverty. A new report recommends Nordic cooperation on the issue and a Danish MEP calls energy poverty “unsustainable”.
- Estonia welcomes Sweden and Finland into Nato
- One year after Finland joined Nato, Sweden has also become part of the Nato family. This brings them together with Norway, Iceland and Denmark, members since the start in 1949.
- When the Nordic open labour market ended overnight
- This summer, the common Nordic labour market will be 70 years old. But have we really been able to work freely in a neighbouring Nordic country for that whole period of time? The border between Norway and Sweden was closed for 23 months during the Corona pandemic, a new book published by the Svinesund Committee points out.
- Faroese independence is suddenly back on the table
- The Faroe Islands would like to become a full member of the Nordic Council. But since the Swedish Minister for Nordic Cooperation has dismissed that possibility, more Faroese politicians argue that the islands should review their role as part of the Danish realm and in the Nordic Council.
- Leaders' lack of knowledge about the Norwegian model threatens competitiveness
- Anyone who wants to lead a Norwegian business should understand the Norwegian model. But far from all leaders do, according to Ketil Vedøy, who has spent more than 20 years as a top leader within HR and management. He participated at the launch of this year’s Medbestemmelsesbarometer (Joint decision-making barometer) at OsloMet/AFI.
- Karen Ellemann: All of the Nordics in Nato “positive in every way”
- The Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers believes Nordic cooperation will be even stronger when all of the Nordic countries are Nato members. But during the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Karen Ellemann repeated that a council of defence ministers is not presently being planned.
- Sweden will celebrate the common Nordic labour market in 2024
- As Sweden takes over the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers next year, it will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the common Nordic labour market. A Nordic-Baltic meeting on fighting workplace crime is also scheduled.
- Karen Ellemann – Nordic through and through
- The Nordic Council of Ministers’ new Secretary General takes on responsibility for the Nordic cooperation as challenges are piling up – on security policy, the environment and the Nordic model itself. But she is an incurable optimist and believes the Nordic vision can be achieved.
- LAMPA – Latvian democracy festival with Nordic inspiration
- To strengthen democratic conversation culture through the exchange of ideas and by seeking understanding between people of diverse opinions. That is the purpose of the Latvian LAMPA festival, which has grown bigger each year since its inception in 2015.
Document Actions
Follow us on Facebook
