Sweden and Denmark are suing the EU over minimum wages.

Although the EU has emphasized that the Union does not intend to force a system of statutory minimum wages on member states, Sweden and Denmark have warned against such a development.

On October 4, 2022, the new directive on minimum wages was voted on by the EU countries. This decision means that EU member states are asked to introduce clear criteria on how salaries are calculated and updated.

However, this directive goes against the Swedish model, where unions and employers negotiate wages and collective agreements with employees.

Social Democrats and Swedish Democrats vs. the EU

Both the Swedish Democrats and the Social Democrats have demanded that the government back up Denmark's action against the directive in the EU court.

The main concern is that the directive's long-term effects on the Swedish labor market model will act against Sweden's best interests and the autonomy of labor market partners.

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by Lars Larsson/TT, Niklas Svahn/TT | edited by Riedia

The situation in Swedish emergency hospitals is serious, and patients are at risk of not receiving adequate attention on time.

The last review of the Inspection for Health and Welfare (IVO) revealed that all 27 hospitals that were audited had a severe lack of staff and care places.

Hence, the National Board of Health and Welfare is now to propose how this shortage can be solved through a national plan for the provision of skills in healthcare.

Suicide commission

The government also wants to set up an accident commission to investigate suicides.

Additionally, support for relatives should also be improved.

Every year, approximately 1,200 people kill themselves in Sweden. But according to the government, regulatory changes in recent years have led to fewer cases of suicide reported and followed up.

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by Anja Haglund/TT | edited by Riedia

🌱 EU will support Swedish project of sustainable aviation fuel

The EU Innovation Fund will back up the Swedish project to produce synthetic sustainable aviation fuel with 80 million euros, which is equivalent to nearly 900 million kronor.

The parties involved in the project are Vattenfall, Shell, Lanzatech, and SAS as potential fuel users.

According to the parties, this so-called ‘electro fuel’ is produced with fossil-free electricity and in this case, captured carbon dioxide from district heat production.

Waiting for more

The plant which will produce this green aviation fuel will supposedly be able to produce at least 25 percent of SAS's requirements for sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.

However, more information about its features, production, and investments has not yet been revealed.

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by TT | edited by Riedia

⛽ Guterres: Oil companies market the big lie

UN Secretary-General António Guterres departed from the fine language of diplomacy when he attacked oil companies' involvement in the climate crisis and global warming.

In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Guterres said the companies were "peddling the big lie," referring indirectly to the fact that Exxon Mobil scientists knew about the dangers of fossil fuels back in the 1970s. Guterres shared his frustration with the crowd, “last week we learned that some fossil fuel producers were fully aware that their basic product is baking our planet."

Data on the oil company Exxon Mobil has been published in the prestigious journal Science. According to the journal, the oil company's management chose not to listen to the company's own scientists. Guterres connected Exxon Mobil’s refusal to listen to its own experts to another industry, “just as in the tobacco industry, they have chosen to completely ignore their own research."

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by TT | edited by Riedia

⛸️ Warning: Mild weather can bring about deceptively thin ice . If you do decide to go out on the ice there are a few important things to keep in mind: never go out alone, use a throw line, study the area, use ice spikes, and bring a dry change of clothes.

🪖 Sweden is sending several types of weapons and materials to Ukraine. The most important is perhaps the Archer weapons system . The latest package included an air defense system, ammunition, off-road cars, body protection for soldiers, and winter equipment, such as snowsuits, heat stoves, tents, and masking. The new support package is intended to contribute to land battles.

🌧️ According to SMHI, areas of southern Sweden have been the worst affected by the floods . However, how long it will take for the water to recede is still unclear. At the same time, there are warnings that things can get worse elsewhere.

🇬🇧 Church of England clergy will no longer be allowed to marry gay couples . The announcement comes after five years of debate and consultation.

🇳🇿 New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is stepping down by February 7th saying she no longer has "enough in the tank" to lead, ahead of the country's elections on October 14th. The labor party, which she leads, will vote for a new leader on January 22nd. Ardern, who became PM in 2017 as the youngest female head of government, has recently seen both the party's and her own popularity decline in opinion polls.

🇦🇫 At least 70 people have died in a cold snap in Afghanistan. Since January 10th, temperatures have been falling. The coldest temperatures have been measured in the central province of Ghowr, where 32 degrees below zero were recorded this weekend. Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021, the war-torn country has ended up on the brink of a humanitarian disaster, and more than half of the country's 38 million inhabitants are threatened by famine this winter.

🚨 There’s a new wave of violence in Stockholm where housing is under fire. At three o'clock Wednesday morning two apartments in different parts of Stockholm, one in Farsta, and the other in Husby, were set on fire after shootings reports. Later in the evening, police were alerted of another incident in central Stockholm.

🌷 This spring, things are literally in bloom at Fotografiska in Stockholm. The exhibition "In bloom" shows images by 16 photographers who strive to understand and explore nature and man's relationship with it. The exhibition opens on February 17th and runs until June 11th.

🖥️The Stockholm District Court has sentenced to imprisonment to the Peyman and Payam Kia brothers , who have been found guilty of gross espionage of Sweden’s intelligence on behalf of Russia. Peyman Kia was employed at the Swedish Security Service and the Swedish Armed Forces where, according to the verdict, he collected at least 90 secret documents, while Payam Kia reportedly maintained contact with Russia. The Swedish Security Service has pointed out on several occasions that Russia is one of the countries that pose the greatest security threat to Sweden.

⛽ The IEA forecasts oil demand to reach a record due to lifted Covid restrictions in China. Demand is expected to increase by 1.9 million barrels per day. The IEA warns against potential price rises as supply and demand conditions in the oil market may change.

🏦 Sandvik has taken a seven-year loan of 500 million EUR from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support its R&D in advanced solutions for component manufacturing, electrification, and automation for the mining and infrastructure segments.

💸 In 2022, Swedish fund savers raised 19 billion SEK in funds, significantly lower than the annual average of 79 billion SEK since 2000. Total fund assets decreased by 884 billion SEK due to a sharp drop in the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Many fund savers have been selling funds with higher risk, particularly equity funds.

👑 Multilingual queen

Sweden’s queen is actually not Swedish. Queen Silvia was born in Heidelberg, Germany in 1943, and met King Carl at the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich.

At the time, Silvia was working as an interpreter at the Argentine consulate in Munich. She is fluent in 6 languages: German, Portuguese, Spanish, French, English, and Swedish. Swedish being the last one she learned.

by Julia Powanda/Riedia