🇭🇺 Hungary accuses Sweden of spreading lies

The Hungarian delegation was received by the speaker Andreas Norlén on Tuesday to discuss the Hungarian ratification process of Sweden’s NATO membership.

During the visit, the vice speaker in the Hungarian Parliament Csaba Hende confirmed that Hungary supported Sweden's NATO application.

However, he accused Sweden of spreading lies about Hungary and claimed that it was necessary to improve Sweden's and Hungary's bilateral relations.

In order to achieve this, Hende said that “it would be desirable for Swedish politicians, government representatives and members of the European Parliament not to indicate or suggest that there is a lack of rule of law in Hungary" as such claims are not based on facts.

Sweden, like the EU, has previously criticized Hungary on issues relating to the rule of law and the lack of democracy.

Approval answer just around the corner

Hungary and Türkiye are the only NATO countries whose parliament has not yet approved the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO. According to Hende, the debate in the Hungarian Parliament about Sweden's NATO membership is supported by all parties except one.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called on his party colleagues in Fidesz to say yes to the two Nordic countries' membership.

The Hungarian delegation's message was that the country is ratifying Sweden's application for three to five weeks from today, but no date was mentioned.

The Hungarian Parliament is expected to decide later in March to approve Sweden’s NATO membership.

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by Peter Wallberg/TT, Niklas Svahn/TT | edited by Riedia

Swedish furniture giant, IKEA, will expand the contracts of part-time employees to include more hours of work, reducing the amount of extra time worked.

Many store employees at IKEA work more hours than stated in their contract. It is this so-called extra time that IKEA wants to convert into more hours in the contracts and thus reduce the costs for the company, reports Trade news.

“A completely different way than H&M”

The move is expected to reduce the costs for the company and make employees more satisfied. The union hopes that more people will be given full-time positions as a result of the change.

The company's decision to increase hours on staff contracts contrasts with H&M’s approach of reducing the number of hours in employees’ contracts, which has received criticism from the union.

Cutting working hours is not a good way to make people feel comfortable at their jobs, said Karin Vedlin, a union coordinator for Handels at IKEA.

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by Linnéa Engholm/TT | edited by Riedia

The Center Party has put forward a new policy to help women victims of violence leave an abusive relationship in a faster and easier way.

Many women who are abused and suffer domestic violence are afraid to leave their relationship for economic reasons. Therefore, one of the proposals of the Center Party is to give money to cover additional costs arising from a rapid break-up.

According to the new party leader, Muharrem Demirok, there are “two epidemics in Sweden, one is gang crime and the other is men's violence against women".

Other proposals

These new proposals are part of one of the four areas Demirok has identified as the most important in the policy he intends to shape as party leader: Security.

In addition to that party, the Center Party also wants to see a national housing queue for victims of violence. This would give them the possibility of priority even outside their own municipality to find a place to live.

According to the Center Party, a national leave program is also needed, which consists of cooperation between authorities such as the police, tax authorities, and social services, as well as financial advice and help for the vulnerable woman to start a new life.

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by Lars Larsson/TT | edited by Riedia

❄️ Snow heading east

On Tuesday morning, heavy snowfall hit western Sweden, with forecasts predicting it to continue moving east toward Stockholm.

"Those who can should work at home," says Bengt Olsson of the Swedish Transport Administration.

Halted traffic

According to meteorologist Marie Staerk from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), similar amounts of snow are expected across eastern Sweden, with an orange warning issued for heavy snowfall combined with windy weather in northern Götaland and eastern Svealand.

The snowy weather could lead to traffic disruptions and power cuts, with buses stopped in Halland due to safety concerns. Train traffic has also been halted in several places, including the Ystad-Simrishamn, Eslöv-Helsingborg, and Varberg-Borås-Herrljunga tracks. Meanwhile, Skåne experienced milder weather with plus degrees and rain.

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by Micke Larsson/TT | edited by Riedia

🎮 Swedish game studio Resolution Games has released “ Demeo ” as a launch game for Sony's recently released PlayStation VR2. “Demeo” is a traditional role-playing game that is played around a table and is best played with friends. Players can choose from seven different heroes, all with unique abilities, to embark on a quest. The game has been built from scratch for virtual reality and can be played by up to four players. Resolution Games is also behind titles such as "Bait!", a fishing game, and the upcoming shooter game "Spatial ops".

💳 Members of Parliament (The Riksdag, consisting of 349 members) may receive a salary increase of SEK 1,500 per month, bringing their monthly salary to SEK 73,000, from the end of the year. The decision is made by the Board based on the wage increases that have occurred in society during 2022 and the uncertain economic situation. The increase amounts to approximately 2% in percentage terms.

🛫 Traffic at Swedish airports continues to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic. In February 2021, 2.1 million passengers traveled through one of Swedavia's airports, marking an increase of almost 80% compared to the same period last year. The demand for air travel has increased, especially for international travel via Arlanda. Most trips went to Spain, followed by the UK and Germany.

🇨🇳 China's President Xi Jinping said in a speech at the People's Congress in Beijing on Monday that the US must "press the brake" in its " oppression " to China, otherwise China must "show courage and will to fight within the country and in the outside world". The relationship between both countries became worse when the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon in February. The incident led to the US Foreign Minister Blinken canceling a planned trip to China. Additionally, China has so far been vague in its attitude to Russia's war in Ukraine, but happy to use the subject to justify an aggressive policy against Taiwan, which the Beijing regime claims belongs to China.

🇺🇦 Ukraine's army is in urgent need of artillery ammunition. The EU and the Swedish EU Presidency are now trying to find a way to quickly deliver artillery grenades. According to the Swedish Minister of Defense Pål Jonson, from the Moderates, the government will do everything to create the best possible conditions for finding a solution to this. Discussions are ongoing to allow the EU to allocate EUR 1 billion to financially compensate countries that can quickly send ammunition to Ukraine. However, it is unclear whether EU countries have such large stock that they are willing to give up some.

🇰🇵 North Korea is accusing the US of deliberately increasing and aggravating tensions in the area by having joint military aviation exercises with South Korea. According to Kim Yo-Jong, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un's sister, North Korea is ready to take action against the US and South Korea if the countries expand their joint military exercises which could be considered a declaration of war.

🎶 Swedish musician Joakim Thåström will perform at Rosendal Garden Party in Stockholm on June 11, which will be his only gig this summer. The festival will take place in Stockholm from June 8-11 and will feature artists such as Aphex Twin, Fever Ray, The War on Drugs, and Jenny Beth. The festival has been extended to four days this year.

🚔 A man in his 20s was found shot on Monday evening in Marieberg on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. One person has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. There is no current connection between this shooting and a shooting happening three hours after in Kungsholmen in central Stockholm.

🕯️ A man in his 30s was shot and killed in an apartment in Flemingsberg, south of Stockholm, on Monday midnight. The man was found with multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital, but he could not be saved. There were several people in the apartment, including children, but no one is currently suspected of the crime. The police are investigating possible links to the ongoing wave of violence in Stockholm, but they have not commented on a possible motive.

💸 Interest rates will still go up. The Governor of Sweden's central bank, Erik Thedéen, has warned that inflation is spreading across almost the entire Swedish economy and has become a greater problem for households than the rise in interest rates. The Riksbank has already raised the policy rate from 0 to 3% in nine months, with further increases of 25-50 points planned for April. Thedéen hopes households will insure themselves against future interest rate rises by choosing longer maturities on mortgages.

🏖️ Despite the recession and rising food prices, Swedish tourists are not giving up on summer holidays abroad . Tour operators report that booking levels are close to pre-pandemic levels, with more Swedes booking trips than expected. The trend seems to be due to a combination of a desire to travel after the pandemic, priority being given to travel experiences over other expenditures, and the recent payout of electricity support. The Greek islands are becoming increasingly popular, while Turkey is losing ground. The tour operators remain cautious, but optimistic, about the rest of 2023.

👨‍⚖️ Ericsson has agreed to pay SEK 2.2 billion in fines for breaching a 2019 agreement with the US Department of Justice related to bribery in Iraq. The company had previously confessed to corruption charges but broke the agreement by not directly mentioning corruption in an internal report. The Iraq affair is still under investigation, and Ericsson's board and CEO were denied discharge from liability at the 2022 annual general meeting.

👭 Gender Equality in Sweden

According to research published ahead of International Women’s Day this year, Sweden has been named the top European country for women to work in, based on a range of factors including economic and leadership opportunities.

Sweden has long been a strong promoter of gender equality since it became a separate policy in the 1970s. Since then, gender equality has had a central position in the public debate in the country. However, some challenges remain to be fulfilled such as the pay gap, domestic violence, and women in the business sector, which remains a male-dominated field.

The gender equality policy goal in Sweden is that women and men have the same power to shape society and their own lives through having the same rights and opportunities to be active citizens, the same opportunities and conditions regarding education, paid work, study options, and personal development. Additionally, Sweden has been praised globally for its efforts to promote equal distribution of unpaid housework and parental leave, for men and women sharing the same responsibilities for housework and family care.

The overarching Swedish principle is that everyone, regardless of their gender, has the right to work and support themselves, to balance their career and family life, and to live without the fear of abuse or violence.

According to the government’s website , equality between women and men is a fundamental constitutional norm and an explicit policy objective in Sweden.

And we can tell you that this policy promotes equality not only between women and men, but between all genders. For instance, in case you didn’t know, Swedish has a gender-neutral pronoun used for non-binary individuals and as a generic singular pronoun form. “Hen” was introduced to the Swedish language in 2012 and was added to the Swedish Academy Glossary (SAOL) in 2015, with the aim of promoting tolerance, respect, and equality towards diversity in the country.

But that’s a story for another day!

by Viviana Levet/Riedia