Sunday, June 1, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

“Respect for your own culture is a basis for progress”

Published 16 May 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Faroese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Høgni Hoydal at the press briefing at International Press Center in Copenhagen.

Developing a small nation like the Faroe Islands is challenging, especially culturally in the digital age, according to Faroese Minister Høgni Hoydal. He also believes that the Faroese government’s extensive efforts to develop the Faroese language and the small island nation’s culture have paid off.

I fully believe that the basis for all progress is human progress and that you have respect for your own culture, he emphasized during a visit to Copenhagen.

Høgni Hoydal has been the leader of the Faroese independence party Tjóðveldi, also known as the Republican Party, which is part of the governing coalition in the Faroe Islands, since 1998. Last week he visited the International Press Center in Copenhagen to report on the general situation in the Faroe Islands and the politics of the small autonomous island nation.

Among other things, Hoydal pointed out that over the past 5-15 years, the Faroe Islands have seen a population growth, which is a reversal of the previous trend. In 2023, the Faroese population is expected to reach 54,000 people. In addition to concrete investments in good conditions for family formation such as health care, schools and education and a generally functioning infrastructure to connect the 18 main Faroese islands, Hoydal placed special emphasis on investments in Faroese culture. A significant part of the public budget is being actively invested in the development of the Faroese language, partly because it is a major challenge to establish a small language like Faroese as a natural part of the global digital environment. He points out that the investments have yielded the desired results and are also reflected in a rich cultural life through music, literature and cultural festivals.

We have to use a large part of our budget to invest in textbooks and books and literature and art, so that we can have a modern society on our own basis, with our own language, and we are quite proud that we have managed to do so, says Hoydal.

I fully believe that the basis for all progress is human progress and that you have respect for your own culture, that you have a diversified world with as many diverse cultures and languages as possible. That is a huge challenge for us – as it is for so many.

The politician emphasizes that the Faroese approach is to simultaneously place great emphasis on encouraging learning about other cultures in order to interact effectively with the world.

“Everything is about self-reliance”

The Faroese minister also mentions that the definitive overall goal for the small island nation is to further increase its self-reliance.

For us, everything is about self-reliance and self-determination, he says, adding that the Faroe Islands also have a moral responsibility to stand on their own two feet in relation to Denmark, which has long supported the Faroese economy.

It is not only a question of self-reliance, it’s also a question of moral in my opinion. Today, the Faroese economy is stronger than the Danish economy, so why should we get money from Denmark when we are one of the richest nations in the world?

View over the Faroese capital Tórshavn. Photo: Arne List/CC BY-SA 2.0

The specific goal is to reduce the Danish support by 100 million Danish kroner over the next 4 years and to take over some new responsibilities. If the goal is achieved, it means that approximately 2.4 percent of the Faroese budget is financed by Denmark – something he points out was as much as 30 percent some 30 years ago.

Another part of the stated self-sufficiency goal is to become self-sufficient in electricity, something that has been achieved on land – but including the large fishing fleet, a complete solution has yet to be found despite the development of hydro and wave power.

13 tons of fish per Faroese – every year

The Faroese economy is very much based on the fishing industry, which accounts for 90 percent of the country’s exports, and Hoydal emphasizes that a very large part of the public debate naturally revolves around it. The Faroe Islands are only 1,299 square kilometers in land area, but the sea area is 274,000 square kilometers with a well-preserved marine ecosystem that allows for annual fish catches of as much as 700,000 tons, equivalent to 13 tons per Faroese per year or 40 kilos per day. 100,000 tons of these are salmon farms.

Everything in the Faroe Islands is about fish and sea, in a modern sense, and you can meet the Faroe Islands on every ocean of the world. Not only are we operating on our own waters but we are operating all around the world as seafarers and all modern industries that are related to the sea and to shipping and so on, says Hoydal, who adds that they are also investing in diversifying the area – including the cultivation of seaweed, which is in demand in pharmaceuticals and textiles.

One criticism directed at the Faroe Islands during the year is that they have exempted fishing exports from their sanctions against Russia, which is currently the only economic link that exists in practice between the countries. Increased pressure has been put on the Faroe Islands to end this, but Hoydal says that they are currently not worried that sanctions could potentially be imposed on the Faroe Islands by the EU. He adds that the Faroe Islands have previously experienced exceptional sanctions in connection with an EU boycott in 2013 that wiped out 50 percent of Faroese fish exports in one fell swoop.

If the EU had managed to put these sanctions on Russia, perhaps the war would stop, he says.

Hoydal concludes that Arctic cooperation in particular is very difficult to navigate and unpredictable even in the near future due to the tragic situation in Ukraine.

This terrible new geopolitical situation has also put pressure on what we have tried for many years, to have international and regional bodies to govern everything that happens in our vast area of the North Atlantic and the Arctic, he notes.

 

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Tests reveal imported honey in Sweden is fake

Published today 11:34
– By Editorial Staff
According to EU rules, real honey should only contain honey - and nothing else.

All honey imported into Sweden is fake, new tests show. Instead, the “honey” contains mostly sugar and syrup.

The industry organization Biodlingsföretagarna has tested 40 honey products available on the Swedish market. A new form of DNA technology was used to test the honey.

36 of the products, all imported, did not contain real honey, the tests showed. Instead, the products contained sugar and syrup. Only four of the products tested contained real honey and all were produced in Sweden.

We consider this to be extremely serious. We knew there were fake products on the market, but we are shocked by the scale of it, says Yngve Kihlberg, chairman of the Swedish Beekeepers’ Association, to the tax-funded SVT.

“Must await EU decision”

In the EU, a product called “honey” must contain only honey. It is okay to mix honey from different origins, but not to add other ingredients. According to the trade association, most of the imported “honey” comes from China, where they have found ways to cheat to allow products to pass controls even though they contain very little honey.

Swedish grocery retailers will not replace the honey products identified as fake at this stage, as they have passed the current controls.

We would like to replace the current testing methods if they do not work. But we have to wait for the EU’s decision on the accreditation of the DNA tests, says Martin Andersson, who is responsible for industrial policy at the Swedish grocery trade, to SVT.

Fines increased for killing protected species in Finland

Biodiversity

Published 30 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The fine for killing an Arctic fox in Finland is €17,656.

The Finnish Ministry of the Environment has significantly increased the fines for killing protected animals. For example, killing a freshwater pearl mussel is now three times more expensive than before.

Recently, it was decided to update the list of protected animals and the penalty for killing one of them. In Finland, the list was last updated in 2002, when a total of 286 animal species were included.

The new updated list now includes 320 animal species as well as 158 plant species that are protected and therefore illegal to kill or harm. Among others, the viper has been added.

The fines for killing a protected species have also been increased. For example, the fine for killing a Arctic fox has increased from €7,400 to €17,656. For the species black tern, it has increased from €185 to €9,865. The freshwater pearl mussel has increased from €589 to €1,496.

Some species on the list have received smaller fines, such as the white-tailed eagle, which has gone from €7,400 to just €407.

The value of a species is assessed on a number of criteria. These include the size of the population, how threatened the species is and how fast it is reproducing.

Worrying trend: More people driving under the influence of drugs

Published 30 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Genre image - traffic accident. There is no information that drugs are related to this particular incident.

In Sweden, it is now more common for drivers to be under the influence of drugs than alcohol, while in Finland it is still more common to drive drunk than under the influence of drugs.

Between 2018 and 2022, 81 people died in Finland in traffic accidents where the driver who caused the accident was under the influence of at least one drug. This corresponds to 11 percent of all fatal traffic accidents during the period when drug testing was possible.

– Alcohol is still the most common intoxicant in fatal traffic accidents, but drugs are becoming increasingly common. This is particularly true of amphetamines, which are often linked to high speeds and risky decisions. Cannabis is also common among those who drive while intoxicated, says Kalle Parkkari, Director of Traffic Safety at the Finnish Accident Investigation Board, to Swedish Yle.

Statistics show that drivers under the influence of drugs are more likely to collide with other vehicles, while drivers under the influence of alcohol tend to drive off the road or crash in off-road terrain. However, Parkkari points out that the number of cases is so limited that it is difficult to draw firm conclusions.

– There is nevertheless a slight trend indicating an increase in drug-related driving under the influence. Traffic is part of society, and drug use in society appears to be on the rise. It is therefore inevitable that drugs will also begin to appear more frequently in traffic, Parkkari notes.

Sweden stands out in the statistics

In Sweden, the trend is more alarming. Between 2012 and 2022, 23 percent of drivers who died in traffic accidents were under the influence of drugs, compared to 11 percent who had alcohol in their system. Drug-related drunk driving has thus overtaken alcohol as the most common cause.

Lars-Olov Sjöström, traffic safety manager at the Swedish Motorists’ Sobriety Association, points to a change in attitude among young people as a possible explanation.

– For a hundred years, we have taught people not to drive with alcohol in their system, but the surveys we have conducted in collaboration with authorities in Norway show that the same young people who refrain from driving when under the influence of alcohol do not think as carefully when it comes to cannabis. We are lagging behind in providing information about cannabis and other drugs.

“We can learn from each other”

He believes that a more liberal and permissive view of “recreational drugs” among young people makes the work more difficult, but still sees hope for change within five to ten years. Both Parkkari and Sjöström emphasize the importance of cross-border cooperation to manage the development.

– It would be enormously helpful if we could learn from other countries’ experiences in this area. While the situation in Finland is still under control, it is very important to ensure that it does not get worse, says Parkkari.

Sjöström agrees, adding:

– We are seeing the same pattern in Finland as we have seen in Sweden, so we can learn from each other and discuss methods for dealing with the problem.

Swedish journalist files police report against major bank for theft

The crisis of confidence in banks

Published 29 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Mattias Albinsson doesn't think he'll get his banking services back - but he'd like the bank to give back the money they took.

Samnytt reporter Mattias Albinsson has reported the Wallenberg-owned bank SEB for theft after the bank not only closed his account and blocked his Bank ID, but also seized the journalist’s own money on unclear grounds.

Albinsson suspects that he has been subjected to repression by the bank because he works for a newspaper whose reporting and editorial stance are disliked by SEB’s management.

In recent years, the Nordic Times has highlighted a very worrying trend in which people with regime-critical or otherwise inconvenient views are reporting that their accounts are being suddenly and arbitrarily closed – something that also happened earlier this month to Samnytt journalist Mattias Albinsson.

One day, he discovered that his Bank ID no longer worked and that he could not access his own money in his bank account.

According to the reporter, a bank official confirmed that the bank had moved his assets to one of its own “internal accounts”.

Simply stolen, in plain Swedish. I can’t claim it was a huge amount of money. But it would have been enough for a month’s worth of groceries, at least. Now it will probably end up in the bank managers’ golf fund”, he writes in a column.

“An excuse to shut me down”

Albinsson has been a customer of SEB for 24 years but has been living abroad for several years. Last fall, the Wallenberg bank contacted him and asked him to fill out a “customer knowledge” form, which he did, together with a female bank employee over the phone.

The journalist explains to the bank that he needs Bank ID in order to access official mail and other important services, and they agree that other “risky banking services” such as cards, Swish, and international payments will be deactivated – precisely to avoid problems with the bank in the future.

Despite the fact that one of the bank’s own employees helped Albinsson fill out the document, the bank is not satisfied and soon sends out a new “customer knowledge” form, demanding an explanation as to why the journalist wants a bank account in Sweden in the first place. This is also filled out, but new forms continue to arrive.

Customer knowledge, customer knowledge, customer knowledge, customer knowledge, customer knowledge. In the end, I can’t reasonably respond any further to SEB’s demands for ‘customer knowledge’. I’ve already responded several times. I’m starting to get an idea of what they’re after. They want an excuse to shut me down”, he says.

“I feel that they have support from Rosenbad”

His fears proved to be well-founded, as SEB soon kicked out the Swedish expat – even though he had already answered their questions on several occasions.

SEB did not allow him to get his own money back in a straightforward manner with the help of a relative who visited one of the bank’s offices with power of attorney. Instead, they demanded that he fly to Sweden himself and appear in person to get his seized assets back. A trip that would likely be more expensive than the money he had lost.

He himself believes that it is very likely that the reason he was targeted is because he works for a newspaper that SEB’s managers disapprove of, and points out that they have acted in a similar way towards others in the past.

The situation is complicated by the fact that Sweden, regardless of the political color of the government, is moving in an increasingly totalitarian direction where freedom of the press is being stifled step by step. In more ways than one. It’s not just about ‘alternative media’. The ‘Foreign Espionage Act’, for example, can be seen as primarily targeting so-called established media”, he argues, continuing:

So SEB probably feels that it has the support of Rosenbad (Swedish government) when it cracks down on Swedish journalists abroad. In particular, those who write about the wrong things, are suspected of harboring the wrong opinions, or whatever else they choose to focus on”.

To protest the bank’s actions, Albinsson has decided to report SEB to the police for theft or fraud. He does not believe that this will lead anywhere, but sees it as “a way of showing that we will not silently accept theft”.

For my part, I don’t think I’ll get my Bank ID back. Or my bank account. But I am more than happy to get back the money that SEB has stolen”, he emphasizes.

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