Portrait
Øresund has something to teach Europe
Mar 01, 2005 Peter Kay Mortensen thinks the rest of Europe could learn from the experiences of the Øresund region in Denmark and Sweden. He is chairman of the Greater Copenhagen Section of the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions, and one of the driving forces behind the Øresund co-operation.
News
Mobility after the enlargement - too much or too little?
Mar 01, 2005 Ten months after the at least partial opening of the borders for workers from the new EU member states, it is still too early to see whether it has been a positive or negative move for the Nordic countries. Some feel predictions of social dumping have come true. Others are surprised so few have made use of their increased mobility.
News
Nordic Co-operation: Backing increased integration
Mar 01, 2005 An overall relatively small number of people commuted across a border between the Nordic countries, yet in some regions the international commuting was very significant. Those are some of the results from the Nordic Commuting Map 2001, which was published recently. During its 2005 presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Denmark wants to make it easier for people to cross national borders to do a job.
tema
Norwegians hard to convince they need to work after 62
Mar 01, 2004 To avoid a future total collapse in the Norwegian retirement system, more people have to work for longer. That is the main message from the Norwegian Pension Commission. But how realistic is it to expect those between 62 and 66 to continue working? And do employers really want them?
News
The jigsaw of life…
Mar 01, 2004 Three public authorities in Sweden are co-operating to encourage Swedish employers to make it easier for their employees to combine work with parenthood. As part of a larger campaign, they are now sending out a jigsaw to 6.500 employers, with the question: "Work and family - How easy is it to make the pieces fit at your place?"
News
The hunt for innovation knows no borders
Mar 01, 2004 Today, all countries are seeking the ultimate environment for innovation and creativity. The Nordic countries are looking to each other for help. In January this year the Nordic Innovation Centre, NICe, was established in Oslo. Financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, its ambition is to make the Nordic countries leading innovators in Europe
Portrait
Siv Fridleifsdottir and the Icelandic chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers 2004
Mar 01, 2004 She is Icelandic, Norwegian, and a little bit Swedish. She grew up on the outskirts of the only big city in Iceland, in the county of Seltjarnarnes, surrounded by the Atlantic. Her main job is as Iceland’s Environment Minister, and this year she is also a Nordic co-operation minister.
tema
Finland's special commitment to disadvantaged jobseekers
Mar 01, 2004 A Finnish pilot project providing special services for the long-term unemployed becomes permanent. An ambitious programme will establish 25 so-called employment service centres across the country. It is part of the government's ambition to create 100.000 new jobs during this parliamentary term.
tema
The best mix: old and young together
Mar 01, 2004 “We should look after our senior staff, but it is not our intention to turn Linjegods into a workplace exclusively for older workers. We must also attract the young, so that we get what we call a success mix of age groups, says Asbjørn Aanesen, who is organisational director at Linjegods.
Portrait
Nordic cooperation - a question of survival
Nov 01, 2003 There are those who ask whether Nordic cooperation still has a part to play in a Europe run by the EU. That does not apply to Per Unckel. The Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers is all enthusiasm. If all doubt regarding the Nordic cooperation has not been dispelled by the time he leaves, he shall consider himself a failure, so goes his postulate.
tema
The Nordic labour market in an extended Europe
Nov 01, 2003 Ever since the early Nineties there has been a close cooperation between the Nordic and the Baltic countries. As the Baltic countries and Poland become members of the EU, the professed openness acclaimed by the Nordic countries through fifty years of cooperation is being put to the test.
tema
A story of cooperation across the borders
Nov 01, 2003 Knowledge about the labour market and personal relations is essential whenever employment services are called for. This is even more essential when you are charged with the provision of employment in another country. The following are some of the conclusions drawn by Oili Nätynki, based on many years of experience as an employment intermediary in the Nordic countries and as a Eures consultant.
News
Women on the board - threat of quotas makes the debate pick up pace
Nov 01, 2003 In both Norway and Sweden, legislation is underway for the purpose of placing more women on the boards of private companies unless trade and industry, on its own initiative, increases the women’s share of these positions. Despite the strong presence of equality rights in the Nordic countries, this has still to reach the boardrooms.
tema