DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Here is a look at Sweden's complicated path toward NATO membership. Sweden has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years and long ruled out seeking NATO membership. But the Russian aggression caused a dramatic shift in both countries, with polls showing a surge in support for NATO membership. That leaves Hungary as the last hurdle for Sweden's NATO bid. Not surprisingly, Moscow reacted negatively to Sweden and Finland's decision to abandon nonalignment and seek NATO membership, and warned of unspecified countermeasures.

Persons: —, hasn’t, Nonalignment, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Viktor Orbán, Ulf Kristersson, ” Organizations: STOCKHOLM, NATO —, Nordic, NATO, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Kremlin, Swedish, ALLIANCE, Finns, RUSSIA, nonalignment Locations: NATO, Hungary, Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Baltic, U.S, Turkey, Turkish, Swedish, Kurdistan, Stockholm, Budapest, SWEDEN, St, Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Northern Europe

☆ Sweden expects Turkey to approve its NATO membership 'within weeks'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS — Sweden expects Turkey to approve its NATO membership "within weeks," the country's foreign affairs minister told CNBC after a months-long impasse over Stockholm's future within the alliance. Sweden sent a formal application to join NATO back in May 2022, alongside Finland. The latter became an official member in April 2023, but Sweden has been kept waiting by member nations Hungary and Turkey. During a NATO summit in July, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to let Sweden into the alliance. "I had a bilateral with my colleague the foreign minister of Turkey, Hakan Fidan, where he told me he expects the ratification to take place within weeks," Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström said Wednesday in Brussels.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ulf Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Hungary's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hakan Fidan, Tobias Billström, Billström Organizations: Swedish, NATO, BRUSSELS —, CNBC, Kurdistan Workers Party, Foreign Locations: Vilnius, BRUSSELS, BRUSSELS — Sweden, Turkey, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Turkish, Brussels

BRUSSELS (AP) — Sweden players were returning to their clubs Tuesday after taking an overnight flight home from Brussels following the suspension of their European Championship qualifier against Belgium at halftime because a gunman killed two Swedish nationals before kickoff. It was around 4 a.m. local time when the last of the Swedish supporters — totaling about 650, according to the Swedish Football Association — left the stadium under police surveillance, along with some staff from the federation. All hotels where Swedish supporters were staying were also guarded by police, the federation said. Political Cartoons View All 1211 ImagesThe Swedish FA confirmed to The Associated Press that the national-team players were now making their way back to their clubs. Brussels mayor Philippe Close told La Premiere radio that the game had not been regarded as a high-risk match.

Persons: Swedish Football Association —, “, Annelies Verlinden, Martin Fredman, ”, ” Fredman, Caroline, Philippe Close, Thomas Meunier, Meunier, ___ ___ Douglas, Sylvain Plazy, Raf Casert, Lorne Cook Organizations: —, European Championship, Belgium, UEFA, King Baudouin, Swedish Football Association, Swedish FA, Associated Press, Belgian, Belgian Red Devils, Swedish, Brussels, Premiere Locations: BRUSSELS, — Sweden, Brussels, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Swedish, Antwerp, Sundsvall

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden on Tuesday reported partial damage to an undersea telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea running to Estonia that authorities believe occurred at the same time as damage to an undersea gas pipeline and telecom cable from Finland to Estonia. Finland launched an investigation into possible sabotage after reporting the damage to its gas pipeline to Estonia last week. Finnish and Estonian gas system operators on Oct. 8 said they noted an unusual drop in pressure in the Balticconnector pipeline after which they shut down the gas flow. The Finnish government on Oct. 10 said there was damage both to the gas pipeline and to a telecommunications cable between the two NATO countries. Later Tuesday, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that the exact reason for the failure of the cable between Sweden and Estonia still needs to be clarified.

Persons: Carl, Oskar Bohlin, Bohlin, “, Pål Jonson, ” Pål Jonson, Hanno Pevkur, Pevkur, Ulf Kristersson, Kristersson Organizations: STOCKHOLM, —, Civil Defense, Baltic News Service, Swedish Defense, Estonian, NATO, Swedish Locations: — Sweden, Baltic, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Swedish, Estonian, Hiiumaa, Ukraine, Germany, Russia, Danish, Bornholm, Denmark

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s central bank raised its key interest rate Thursday, saying that “inflationary pressures in the Swedish economy are still too high,” although there were signs that inflation had begun to fall. Sweden has been struggling with high inflation — it was 7.5% in August, down from 9.3% in July, but far from the 2% target set by Sweden’s central bank. Thursday's interest rate increase meant that the policy rate is at the highest level since October 2008, the Swedish news agency TT wrote. Norway's central bank also raised its policy rate by a quarter-point on Thursday, to 4.25%. “Persistently high inflation imposes substantial costs on society,” Norges Bank said, adding that ”a somewhat higher interest rate is needed to bring inflation down to target within a reasonable horizon.”The moves came on a busy day of central bank action.

Persons: Ida Wolden Bache, — Organizations: STOCKHOLM, U.S ., TT, Norges Bank Gov, ”, ” Norges Bank, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve Locations: Swedish, Sweden, Ukraine, Norway

☆ Why More Countries Are Adopting Feminist Foreign Policies - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Lyric Thompson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When Margot Wallstrom, then Sweden’s foreign minister, announced back in 2014 that her country would pursue a feminist foreign policy, the idea was greeted with skepticism. Ms. Wallstrom was criticized by the foreign policy establishment globally for both her openly activist approach and the perception that she was naïve to the realities of realpolitik. Less than a decade later, 16 governments have formally adopted feminist foreign policies. It took five years for the first four governments — Sweden, Luxembourg, France and Canada — to adopt feminist foreign policies. What feminist foreign policy looks like in practice varies from country to country.

Persons: Margot Wallstrom, Wallstrom, ’, Ms, Canada — Organizations: — Locations: Sweden, — Sweden, Luxembourg, France, Canada, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Netherlands

☆ Sweden is exploring giving Ukraine its Gripens, fighters said to be by far the 'most suitable' of the available Western jets for battling Russia: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sweden is considering sending Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, according to a new report. Even if Stockholm agrees to send Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, because it would first take time to consider the transfer and then train Ukrainian pilots, the fighter jets likely wouldn't see combat experience until mid-2024 at the earliest, the report said. Advertisement Advertisement Watch: VIDEO: Why Russia's military is failing so far in UkraineA Saab JAS-39C Gripen at RAF Fairford during the Royal Military Air Tattoo on July 15, 2023. Saab JAS 39 Gripens taxi during the NATO exercise Loyal Arrow outside Lulea in northern Sweden on June 10, 2009. Although Sweden has poured cold water on the idea of sending Gripens to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month that his country's service members were already starting to test out the fighter jets.

Persons: Gripens, Sweden's, Saab JAS, Matthew Horwood, PATRICK TRAGARDH, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, there's Organizations: Gripen, Lawmakers, Service, Saab, RAF Fairford, Royal Military Air, Getty, Swedish Saab Gripen, Royal United Services Institute, Swedish Air Force, Ukrainian Air Force, NATO Locations: Sweden, Ukraine, Stockholm, Kyiv, Wall, Silicon, Europe, Russian, Swedish, Ukrainian, Lulea, AFP, NATO, Czech Republic

☆ Zelenskyy begins talks with Sweden about receiving Gripen jets, which some experts think could give Ukraine a better chance at taking on Russia's air defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Swedish jets were specifically built to take on Russia's advanced fighter jets. "Today we discussed in detail the future steps regarding the possibility of opening the subject of receiving Swedish Gripens," Zelenskyy said in the joint press conference, per Reuters. Sweden previously said it would not send these jets to assist the war effort. This week, the United States finally approved plans to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, which the country's officials have asked for since the air battle between Russia has reached a stalemate. For one, the Gripen's electronic-warfare capabilities are reportedly able to outmaneuver Russia's Sukhoi jets, which have even eluded F-16s.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Ulf Kristersson, Insider's Christopher Woody, Jake Epstein, Swedish JAS, Corban, Czech Republic — Organizations: Gripen, Service, Swedish, US Air Force, Tech, Royal United Services Institute, Ukrainian, Ukraine Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Sweden, United States, Russia, Swedish, Czech Republic, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, Hungary

☆ Ukraine says it's now a de facto member of NATO — further underlining a crucial error in Putin's invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine has become a "de facto" NATO member since Russia's invasion, its defence minister said. Russia used the potential of NATO expanding to Ukraine as an pretense for its invasion. But this appears to have backfired, instead bringing it closer to the Western military alliance. Oleksii Reznikov told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Friday that NATO's support for Ukraine meant "Ukraine as a country, and the armed forces of Ukraine, became [a] member of NATO." Putin partly justified his invasion of Ukraine by saying that he was worried NATO was expanding towards Russia's borders, including into Ukraine.

Search resuls for: "— Sweden"

9 mentions found