Swedish language instruction is mandatory in Finnish schools because according to its constitution the country is bilingual.
The fact is however that many Finns see no need to learn Swedish, an attitude that Education Minister Henna Virkkunen is seeking to counter with a new proposal, writes the daily Savon Sanomat:
“According to Virkkunen Swedish language training [...]
Winter in Finland is a fantastic time to enjoy the beauty of the country.
Winter in Finland can last as few as three months or as long as seven months which means that during extended periods there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the cold weather activities.
Photo by Michail Kurejko
Denmark’s elite has changed fundamentally, writes Lars Olsen in his blog for the daily Jyllands-Posten:
“In recent decades civil servants have acquired more power at the expense of elected representatives, and a new layer of ‘experts’ has formed coming from consulting firms, research institutes and the like.
At the same time the social composition of parliament has [...]
Despite the reignited discussions about defence policy and the alleged threat posed by Russia nothing will change regarding the abolishment of compulsory military service in Sweden even after the elections in September, the daily Helsingin Sanomat writes:
“The discussions are partly seasonal in character. Sweden’s security policy decision-makers gathered for a conference in Sälen at the [...]
A growing number of Swedish fathers are taking paid parental leave.
Now nearly one quarter of recipients are men, but that’s not enough, writes the daily Göteborgs-Posten:
“Better than a quota would be to get rid of the hindrances to equal access to parental benefits that still exist. The most important thing is to raise [...]
Hard hit by the economic crisis, Denmark’s farmers are demanding tax and duties exemptions.
But what Danish agriculture really needs is structural reform, the daily Berlingske Tidende writes:
“It is part of the solution to the crisis that the 20 percent of farmers who didn’t manage to make their business profitable even when the economy was [...]
Hindus, expressing concern regarding the health of minority populations, have asked Sweden to urgently look into its health set-up.
“Most of the national minorities have a worse health status than the population as a whole”, according to a new survey by Swedish National Institute of Public Health, a state agency under Swedish Ministry of Health and [...]
Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen has announced he will not seek re-election as chairman of the Centre Party of Finland and that he will step down as leader.
The daily Lapin Kansa observes the scurrying among potential candidates for the job, including Foreign Trade Minister Paavo Väyrynen:
“In his opinion above all one thing is now needed [...]
The polar night has descended upon the north of Finland, where the sun will not rise again for several weeks.
The daily Lapin Kansa sheds light on the health hazards of the prolonged darkness:
“For thousands of years humans have been used to the daily alternation of light and darkness. Seen in this light, it’s not [...]
In accordance with the wishes of the late Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman, his house has been auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The building has been purchased by the Norwegian Gude Gudeson, who plans to turn it into a meeting place for artists together with Bergman’s daughter Linn Ullmann.
The daily Svenska Dagbladet writes that the [...]
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