EU-DIGEST

Labels: EU, Finland, GPS, Nokia

Labels: EU, Finland, Gun Control

Finland's economy will shrink by 7.6 percent this year, its worst performance in more than 50 years, the government said Friday.

The Finance Ministry had earlier predicted a 6 percent drop in GDP in the small Nordic economy severely hit by the recession because of its dependence on exports.

But, the ministry said, the worst is over.

Labels: EU, Finland

Early next year, 1,000 cars on Finnish roads will have devices which use GPS satellite technolog to record information on the vehicles’ movements. The information could be used to determine insurance premiums and road use fees to be charged the driver. The equipment involved is be installed beneath the car’s dashboard, and the driver would have access to three buttons. Companies involved in the project include Pohjola Insurance, Aplicom, Nokia, Destia, and Astarte. The initial letters of each of the companies give the project its acronym - PANDA.

Labels: EU, Finland

The Oasis of the Seas leaving Finland for Florida"

EU-Digest

Towering over any other currently commissioned cruise ship at 16 decks high, 1200 feet long and 220,000 tons, the newest Royal Caribbean luxury cruiser “Oasis Of The Seas” has set sail on it’s maiden voyage. The Oasis of The Seas is a euro 1b (US$ 1.5b) cruise ship that is the largest passenger ship in the world and is currently traveling on it’s maiden trip from Finland to Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Port Everglade. The ship is 50%larger than the Queen Mary II, the next closest cruise ship in terms of size. The Royal Caribbean line's flagship is less a ship than a motorized, buoyant seaside resort. When it goes into service next month, it will have on board, besides its 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew, a 750-seat outdoor aquatic amphitheater, an ice rink, golf course, indoor theater seating 1,300 people, volleyball and basketball courts, assorted swimming pools and seven themed "neighborhoods". Its Finnish makers also claim it will be the "most environmentally friendly cruise ship to date", discharging no sewage into the sea, reusing its waste water and consuming 25 per cent less power than similar, but smaller, cruise liners.

When the Oasis of the Seas had to go under the Great Belt Fixed Bridge Link in Denmark on Sunday, it was left with only a 50cm gap to pass under this huge Danish bridge. The "Great Belt Bridge" (Storebæltsbroen) has the world's third longest main span (1.6 km). This bridge — together with the Oresund Bridge — provide a direct fixed connection between western Continental Europe and northern Scandinavia, eventually connecting all parts of the European Union except for Ireland, Malta and Cyprus and outlying islands.

Click on this link to watch the Video as the Oasis of the Seas leaves Finland where it was built.

Labels: Cruise Industry, Denmark, EU, Finland, Florida, Port Everglades, US

High-speed Internet access is a legal right in Finland

If Thomas Jefferson and our enlightened forefathers were here today, perhaps our unalienable rights would mimic Finland's, which will now include the right to broadband access. According to Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communication, 1-megabit Web access will become a legal right for all citizens in July. France is one of the few countries that has made it a human right but Finland said it's the first country to make it a legal right. It's not clear whether those who can't get connection can sue the government for the violation. Since 1-megabit web access is dauntingly slow -- it's equivalent to DSL speed -- the government has pledged to expand the legal right to 100-megabit broadband access by the end of 2015. This news must come as a relief to Finns who have more important things to do than suffer the pain and frustration of a slow Internet connection. (There are allegedly 1.6 saunas for every Finn.)

Labels: EU, Finland, Internet

Obama To Explain His Vision On Remake Of US Health Care Tonight - European Interest To Focus On Similarities With EU Health Care

Finnish 2Q GDP down 2.6% on qtr, 9.4% on yr

Finland’s economic decline deepened in the second quarter, as both import and export volumes fell sharply due to weaker demand globally, data showed Tuesday. The Nordic country’s gross domestic product in the second quarter contracted 2.6% compared with the previous quarter and was 9.4% lower, adjusted for working days, compared with the same quarter in 2008, Statistics Finland said. Exports fell by 30.2% on the year while imports slid 27.7%; investments decreased 11.7% and private consumption dipped 3.4%, the national statistics agency said.

Labels: EU, Finland

Finland Charges Rwandan Suspect With Genocide

Prosecutors in Finland on Monday charged a former preacher at a Baptist church in Rwanda with genocide for his suspected role in the mass killings in the African country in 1994. Prosecutors said that a pre-trail investigation had provided enough evidence to suggest that Francois Bazaramba had participated actively in the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which over 800,000 people were killed. "It is obvious according to the pre-trial investigation that the man has committed a crime of genocide in the municipality of Nyakizu in April and May 1994 with intent to destroy the Rwandan Tutsis partly or totally," the Finnish Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.

Labels: EU, Finland, Rwanda

Reuters:Finnish GDP nose dives 9.8 pct in January

Statistics Finland (SF) said that the gross domestic product nose-dived 9.8 percent year-on-year in January, the steepest drop recorded since it started keeping data in 1996.

Labels: Economy, EU, Finland

Landis+Gyr: Finland Leads Way in EU Drive for Energy Conservation

Finnish utilities are leading European efforts to conserve energy and protect the environment by deploying Advanced Metering Management (AMM) solutions for businesses and consumers. Landis+Gyr, a global leader in energy management solutions, during 2008 signed AMM contracts with five forward-looking Finnish utilities that will install smart meter solutions enabling 145,000 new consumers to manage energy better. Smart meters are expected to revolutionize energy management and grid reliability across the globe. Smart metering solutions provide utilities with a two-way flow of data required to manage energy use, efficiency and demand response and network protection. Consumers benefit from lower energy costs, and, crucially, a reduced carbon footprint.

An October 2008 report from VaasaETT, an energy think tank in Helsinki, found that energy savings via use of smart meters and in-house displays show average savings of 10.3%. Another 2008 paper, from the European Commission, estimates 7% energy savings for households and 10% for businesses.

Labels: energy conservation, EU, Finland

Soon to come jumbo supersonic aircraft

For the complete report from Gizmag click on this link

To celebrate its 85th anniversary, Finnair has served up a blue-sky vision of what the next 85 years of aviation could hold. Concentrating mainly on potential developments in environmentally friendly technology and lightweight material, the Departure 2093 website lists five aircraft that could grace our sky later this century.The A600-850 M resembles a normal plane that has been squeezed in Photoshop until it takes on the proportions of a dart, complete with needle-thin nose. The plane is described as a “zero-emission supersonic Green-Speed-At-Bonneville aircraft,” with the speed and efficiency attributed to the super-light nanoceramic material used to construct the fuselage. The design is obviously an extrapolation of the recent trend to use carbon composite materials in aircraft design – however, while they do create lighter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighter and stronger airplanes, a zero-emission vehicle would necessitate drastic changes in the energy used to power aircraft. For the fuel of the future, Finnair nominates three contenders that could make zero-emission planes like the 850 M a reality – solar, biofuel, and hydrogen. The efficiency of the 850 M is also improved by the partly elastic wings, which adapt to flight speed and weather conditions. Solar panels on the exterior of the plane provide the electricity for passenger amenities, including the very futuristic-sounding 20-inch 3D display.

Labels: EU, Finland, Finnair, Super Sonic Jet aircraft

Vietnam launch fish fuel project

Espoo, Finland-based VTT Technical Research Center, the largest applied research organization in Northern Europe, launched a three-year project to produce biodiesel from waste generated by a Vietnamese fish processing plant. For the project known as ENERFISH, VTT is working with organizations in France, Germany, the UK and Vietnam to construct a biodiesel facility next to the Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC processing plant in southern Vietnam, which produces 120,000 kilograms (264,555 pounds) of processed fish waste daily. The fish waste is currently sold to the feed industry.

Earlier this year, Finland's state-controlled Neste Oil announced plans to build a $1 billion biodiesel facility in the Netherlands. Last year the company announced plans to build an $810 million biodiesel facility in Singapore that is expected to be operational in 2010

Labels: Alternative fuels, EU, Finland, Fishing Industry, Vietnam

Ice Hockey: Finland, Sweden open Ice Hockey Worlds with victories

Finland shook the rust off and the Swedes survived a scare as the favorites managed to prevail at the World Ice Hockey Championships on Saturday. Mikko Koivu scored a shorthanded and a power play goal as reigning silver medallist Finland beat Germany 5-1 in their opening game at the Metro Centre arena.Sweden survived the biggest scare of the day. Patric Hornqvist scored two goals as the Tre Kronor had to rally in the third period to beat underdog Belarus 6-5 at the Colisee in Quebec City. Rickard Wallin scored the winner with just under 10 minutes to go in the third period for Sweden who outshot Belarus 46-24 in the game. Dmitry Meleshko scored to give Belarus a 5-4 lead early in the third period.

Labels: Belarus, EU, Finland, Germany, Ice Hockey, Sweden

Labor shortage threat to Nordic health, economy

At Helsinki's University Hospital, a tenth of the 6,000 job places are unfilled, some wards are closed and the situation is worsening by the month. But a shortage of labour does not merely threaten people's health in the Finnish capital. It is also a menace to economic health across the Nordic region as builders and engineering firms also struggle to find enough employees. Finland, with Europe's fastest-ageing population and a shrinking labour force, faces the heaviest burden. "We have to limit the type of services we provide and queues are getting much longer," Hanna Aschan, Director of Nursing Management at University Hospital, said.

Finland's neighbours are also hungry for skilled workers, and the shortfall is keeping them from producing at full speed. Unemployment in the Nordics has been falling since the mid-1990s and in 2007 hit 15-year lows, leaving vacancies unfilled and an imbalance between labor supply and demand.

Labels: EU, Finland

Most illegal drugs used in Finland pass through Helsinki region

Most of the illegal drugs sold in Finland pass through the Helsinki region en route to other parts of the country. According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), drugs move in smaller quantities to other parts of Finland from wholesale suppliers in the Helsinki area. "Almost every larger drug case has linkages with the Helsinki region", says special investigator Tuija Hietaniemi of the NBI. Finland is a target country in the international drugs trade. The most common route to Finland for drugs goes through Estonia. Police estimate that at leat 90 per cent of the amphetamine on sale on the Finnish market comes from Estonia or passes through the country.

Labels: Drug Traffic, EU, Finland

Finland's prime minister urges global warming action in Washington visit

Finland's prime minister Matti Vanhanen on Monday urged the United States to step up action in reducing global warming and expressed hopes that the next U.S. president would make the issue a priority. Vanhanen, who plans to meet senior U.S. officials including Vice President Dick Cheney Tuesday, praised the U.S. engagement in recent international negotiations to reach a new climate change agreement. But he implied that he would like to see more commitment from Washington to international cooperation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Labels: EU, Finland, Global warming, US

More dead as Finnish school shooting ends:Finland is an anomaly in Europe. It falls behind only the U.S. and Yemen in gun ownership

At least seven people have died after a student opened fire at a school in southern Finland, hours after a video was posted on YouTube predicting a school massacre. A teacher at Jokela High School told Reuters the gunman was one of its pupils.

Note EU-Digest: Like the US Finland has an obsession with guns - With 1.6 million firearms in private hands, Finland is an anomaly in Europe. Worldwide, it falls behind only the U.S. and Yemen in civilian gun ownership, studies show. The Finnish government said Friday that it would raise the minimum age for buying guns from 15 to 18, but officials insisted there was no need for sweeping changes to gun laws. Guns are dangerous. They cause death. The European Commission should get Finland in line with the rest of Europe on gun control.

Labels: EU, Finland, Gun Control