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Tuesday, March 25, 2025

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/one-in-two-single-parents-cannot-afford-unexpected-expenses/

Sweden

One in two single parents cannot afford unexpected expenses

Published 18 October 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Across the EU, 26% of single parents live in material poverty.
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20 percent of Swedes would not be able to pay a major unforeseen expense today, according to new statistics from SCB (Statistics Sweden). Among single parents, the figure is close to 50 percent.

In the SCB’s Survey on Living Conditions (ULF – Undersökning om levnadsförhållanden), several questions are posed to measure material and social poverty, meaning that one cannot afford a certain standard of living. A household that cannot afford at least five of the indicators can be assessed as living in material poverty.

Nearly 1.7 million people in Sweden live in households without a cash margin, that is, the ability to pay an unforeseen expense of at least SEK 13,000, or about 1,130 euros.

– Of these, an estimated 187,000 are single adults with children. In this group, for example, it is more common than in the general population to find it difficult to make ends meet, says Helena Månsson, researcher at the SCB, in a press release.

Can’t pay

In Sweden, 14 percent of all single parents with children live in material poverty, with 17.7 percent stating that they find it difficult, or very difficult, to make ends meet. About 13.2 percent of the same group say they are behind on payments.

Across the EU, 26 percent of all single parents with children live in material poverty.

The EU country with the highest material poverty is Romania, where 49 percent of single parents are said to belong to this group, followed by Greece with 47 percent, and Bulgaria with 46 percent.

The lowest proportion of single parents with material poverty can be found in Luxembourg, which has eight percent, and Italy, which is at 12 percent.”

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Measurement of material and social poverty

It means that one cannot afford a certain standard of living. This is measured by examining whether individuals can afford the following:

  • Can pay unforeseen expenses of at least 13,000 kronor (in 2022) without borrowing or asking for help.
  • Can afford a week's vacation per year.
  • Can pay debts: mortgages, rent, bills, installment purchases.
  • Can afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish or an equivalent vegetarian option every other day.
  • Can afford to keep the house adequately warm.
  • Has access to a car.
  • Has access to the internet.
  • Can afford to replace worn-out furniture.
  • Can afford to replace worn-out clothes.
  • Owns two pairs of shoes.
  • Can afford to spend a small amount on oneself every week.
  • Can afford to regularly participate in a recreational activity that costs money.
  • Can afford to meet family or friends for a coffee or dinner at least once a month.

An individual who cannot afford five or more of these items lives in material and social poverty. A person who cannot afford seven or more of the items lives, according to the EU's definition, in severe material and social poverty.

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/northvolt-prioritized-non-european-workers-now-they-may-all-be-deported/

Sweden

Northvolt prioritized non-European workers – now they may all be deported

Migration crisis in Europe

Published today 7:15
– By Editorial Staff
Akinola Oguntuyi came with her family from Nigeria to Skellefteå to work at Northvolt.
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More than one in three employees at Northvolt’s Skellefteå plant has been imported from outside the EU. In total, 1650 work permits have been granted – often to people from the other side of the world.

The bankruptcy of taxpayer-funded battery manufacturer Northvolt has been described as one of the biggest industrial crashes in Sweden’s modern history, with thousands of employees expected to lose their jobs in addition to the billions that went up in smoke.

Now an investigation shows that the battery giant has systematically used non-European labor immigration from the third world – and that all migrants attracted by Northvolt are now at risk of deportation.

When Northvolt filed for bankruptcy earlier in March, around 3,000 employees were still working at the battery factory in Skellefteå – and almost 1,100 of them have migrated from outside the EU.

It is noted that a total of 1650 Swedish work permits have been issued where Northvolt was listed as the employer on the application. The IF Metall trade union is one of several stakeholders reacting to the proportion of the workforce coming from non-European countries.

“A little over half”

– I have received information that a little over half of the employees here come from third countries, so there are quite a few. This is a special situation, says IF Metall’s chairman Marie Nilsson, who wants the migrants to be allowed to stay in Sweden.

Many of the immigrants come from Africa and Asia, but why the battery manufacturer has invested heavily in importing labor from the other side of the world, instead of attracting Swedes or other Europeans to the factories, is not something that the company itself has commented on.

The imported migrant workers now have three months to find a new job where they earn at least 80% of the median wage in the profession – otherwise they lose the right to stay in the country.

“Basic knowledge of English”

Already in November, researchers found that Northvolt was in many ways a very dysfunctional workplace, with foreign staff living segregated in shanty towns and the proportion of migrants so high that English – and not Swedish – was the language spoken inside the factories.

– They have become very vulnerable to their employers when they are in a country where the majority language is different from the one used in the workplace, said linguist Andreas Nuottaniemi at the time.

– Many people have moved here with only a basic knowledge of English, which is different from the rest of society, where Swedish is quite highly valued, he continued.

Despite Northvolt being touted as an innovative leader in the “green transition”, audits have also shown that the company never managed to produce a single Swedish battery – instead, the batteries consisted mostly of imported parts from China.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-murderer-sentenced-with-the-help-of-new-technology/

Sweden

Swedish murderer sentenced with the help of new technology

Published yesterday 12:14
– By Editorial Staff
Due to the perpetrator's young age at the time of the murder, he received a significant sentence reduction – the actual sentence value was assessed to be 16 years in prison.
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A man previously acquitted in the district court has now been convicted of murder in Eskilstuna. The breakthrough in the “cold case” came thanks to new DNA technology.

On November 21, 2018, a man was shot dead in the open street in the Nyfors district of Eskilstuna. The investigation was hampered for a long time by a lack of evidence and silence from both witnesses and suspects.

Now the police announce that a 23-year-old man has been convicted of the murder. The case gained new momentum in the autumn of 2023, when investigator Yakup Irak chose to analyze older findings using the new technology DNAxs, which was recently introduced in Sweden.

– You have to be constantly curious about how new technology and new methods can be applied to the case you are investigating, while regularly reviewing and analyzing the material that is available, says Irak in a press release.

A DNA match from a pair of gloves found along the escape route proved decisive and prompted a witness to start cooperating. Although the district court acquitted the 23-year-old, the court of appeal has now convicted him of the murder and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

Substantial reduction in sentence

Investigator Yakup Irak hopes that the case will inspire more people to reopen unsolved cases, where a culture of silence and a lack of evidence have previously put a stop to it.

– I have always believed that we will get a conviction, he says.

According to the court, the sentence for the murder was actually 16 years in prison, but due to sentence reductions and his young age at the time of the murder, the murderer will instead receive seven years in prison. The prosecutor had asked for nine years but says he is satisfied with the outcome

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-state-tv-professor-children-make-us-unhappy/

Sweden

Swedish state TV professor: Children make us unhappy

Published yesterday 8:32
– By Editorial Staff
“The effect of having children appears to be quite clearly negative”, says philosophy professor Erik Angner.
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The Swedish birth rate reached a new historical low last year, with only 1.43 children born per woman.

However, not everyone sees the demographic crisis as negative. In a broadcast by state television SVT, viewers were told that “people with children are generally less happy” and that parents supposedly derive more joy from drinking alcohol than spending time with their kids.

Erik Angner, a professor of practical philosophy and SVT’s “expert” on happiness, argues that it is a persistent myth that children make us happier and that research supports this thesis.

– Baby happiness is talked about, but it’s also very much a myth. Among single American women, the effect of having children is the same as becoming unemployed or chronically ill. It’s a sure way to be less happy, he says.

According to the professor, this is not talked about out loud because of “strong norms” that do not allow people to complain about their children or express dissatisfaction as a parent.

– People with children are generally less happy than people without, and people who spend time with their children enjoy it less than when they do many other things, such as going to the movies, drinking alcohol or watching sports on TV, he further argues.

“Clearly negative effect”

Angner points out that childless people have “alot more money to move around with” than those with children – and can also spend their time on various “festive activities”.

– One child costs about two million (€180,000), and that adds up if you have a few. The effect of having children appears to be quite clearly negative, the professor repeats.

Across the Western world, the birth rate has fallen sharply in recent decades and in the EU the birth rate is now below 1.4 children born per woman – where 2.0 is required for the population not to decline.

Instead of encouraging and incentivizing family formation, European political leaders have long prioritized mass immigration from the developing world, but this has brought with it a whole new set of worries and intractable problems of various kinds.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-pm-appalling-that-hungary-blocks-ukrainian-eu-membership/

Sweden

Swedish PM: “Appalling” that Hungary blocks Ukrainian EU membership

Published 23 March 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Ulf Kristersson believes that Hungary should bow to the majority in the EU.
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Hungary’s government has opposed continued EU military and economic aid to Kiev – and is also strongly critical of Ukrainian EU membership.

The Hungarian stance has upset Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, who considers opposition to Ukraine’s EU integration “appalling”.

The EU’s founding principles require unanimity among member states to take decisions – and each member state can veto proposals it considers harmful or destructive on certain issues. This applies, for example, to the EU’s common foreign and security policy, taxation issues and the Union budget.

The fact that consensus must be reached and that a majority cannot yet completely overrule individual member states on all issues has recently been portrayed by many EU leaders as something very negative. During the ongoing war in Ukraine, political leaders have increasingly argued that the veto should be abolished.

The main reason is that some EU countries, led by Hungary, often diverge from the policies of dominant EU countries such as Germany and France, especially in their approach to the war in Ukraine.

“Promised to throw a wrench in the works””

The Hungarian government does not want to increase military and economic aid to Kiev, has advocated ending the war as soon as possible and does not see Ukrainian membership of NATO or the EU as an option.

The last two EU summits also refused to endorse a joint declaration emphasizing continued support for Ukraine, and Budapest’s unwillingness to endorse Ukrainian EU membership has infuriated Ulf Kristersson.

– Hungary has essentially promised to throw a wrench in the works of this process, we find that appalling, not surprising but appalling, he says in an interview with the Swedish state radio SR.

Ukraine currently has candidate country status and, according to the European Commission, has now aligned its laws with the EU acquis and implemented the necessary reforms to start membership negotiations.

“26 countries are clear”

However, all EU countries have to say yes before such talks can begin, and Hungary’s government has so far said no – arguing that the Hungarian minority in the country is not sufficiently protected.

However, according to Swedish state radio’s analysis, it is “Hungary’s much softer line towards Russia” that is the real reason for opposing Ukrainian EU membership.

Sweden’s EU minister Jessica Rosencrantz (M), like Ulf Kristersson, takes a very negative view of Hungary’s unwillingness to let Ukraine into the Union and says it should bow to the majority view.

– 26 countries are clear that we should start negotiations and the Commission is clear that Ukraine has done its job, so there is nothing to motivate Hungary to block this, she states.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com
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