| 17 |
Without Results. by Nikolai Meinert, Lahti
The Finnish EU presidency is coming to an end. A good time to look back at the goals set and analyse the steps taken towards achieving them. The amount of work done and meetings held on the highest levels were substantial, but what do we have in the end? Well, achieving no results is also in a way a result in itself.
|
| 22 |
Baltic Politics. by Nikolai Meinert, Helsinki
The political atmosphere between Russia and some of the new EU countries remains tense. This is especially true in regards to Estonia and Poland. But what lies beneath this tension and how justified are the reservations of these countries towards Russia?
|
| 26 |
Reconstruction of the Swedish House. by Alexej Smirnov, Stockholm
The right wing coalition won the parliamentary elections in Sweden, taking the power away from the socialists, who ruled the country for 65 out of the last 74 years. What does this silent revolution in such a stable and prospering country as Sweden mean? What changes are the voters hoping to see in the nearest future?
|
| 32 |
Finns on the Baltic Market. by Viktor Kuzjak, Warsaw
The Finnish retail company Kesko has been actively expanding onto the wide Baltic market. Over several years it has moved into neighbour countries and the volume of its sales grew by more than 10% last year alone. On the retail market of Baltic States the company operated together with the Swedish partner ICA Baltic AB almost two years. But this autumn finns pulled out.
|
| 39 |
Always on the Line. by Natalia Gracheva, Stockholm
Sweden is celebrating 50 years since the birth of its greatest invention – the mobile phone. The invention went a long way fast – from weighing over 40 kilograms and costing 7000 euros with just 30 owners to the modern ultra light ultra small version everyone owns today. It has grown from being strictly a means of communication to becoming a whole world in your pocket.
|
| 44 |
To Switch or not to Switch. by Alexander Istomin, Moscow
Switching to digital TV is a decision made on the highest government level. And yet it is not a matter of whether to do it or not, but when and how. For Russia it is also a matter of loosing state control over the content beamed into the living rooms of the majority of population during elections.
|
| 48 |
Paper from Droppings. by Alexej Smirnov, Orrviken
One of the most expensive papers in the world was invented in a home kitchen. Surprisingly, its main ingredient is moose droppings. The demand for this product is snowballing and the new invention has not only introduced an ecology friendly paper, but saved thousands of Swedish elks from termination.
|
| 52 |
Cursor Shows the Way. by Natalia Erchova, Kotka-Hamina
Regional development company, Cursor, comes to the rescue of enterprises looking to invest in the Finnish region of Kotka-Hamina. This help is especially valued by their neighbours in the Russian Leningrad region. The Russian-Finnish project Gateway Office Partners is an effective tool in cross-border cooperation.
|
| 58 |
Foreigners at the Finnish Workplace. by Veronika Pennanen, Helsinki
The influx of cheap foreign labour was one of the main concerns of EU countries as they were preparing to accept new members into their union. But the reality shows that cheap foreign labour is not a threat, but a necessity – one of the surest ways to solve some of the looming problems of an aging Europe.
|
| 64 |
Attracting Big Business. by Marina Koluyartseva, St.Petersburg
For the past 5 years St.Petersburg has been negotiating with large Russian businesses and government structures trying to entice them to change their main offices and move from Moscow. Among the biggest ready for such a move is Gasprom. The city will get a huge tax payer, but it will also need to invest in infrastructure in order to provide its new ‛citizens“ with an incentive to stay.
|
| 70 |
A National Treasure. by Hilda Copter, Karjaa
Sirkus Finlandia is often viewed as a Finnish national treasure. It is known and loved by all Finns. But the circus business has not always been smooth. What are the Scandinavian circuses like? What keeps them going and how they are managed?
|
| 76 |
The Santa Business. by Gorran Svensson, Rovaniemi
How many Santas are there? Where does Santa Claus live? What does he do in the summer? Is it possible to meet him or at least write to him? These questions are not childish. They are very serious – just as serious as the business – the Santa Clause business, bringing in tons of money as is appropriate to any huge enterprise.
|
| 82 |
Fat Boy is Conquering the World. by Elina Karkkonen, Helsinki
During the summits in Finland journalists covering the events were pleasantly surprised by the Fat Boy – a huge been bag pillow that allowed them to relax between meetings with maximum comfort and style without having to leave the press room. The most common question asked on the summits was not about politics, but: who is the genius that thought of this?
|
| 86 |
Summer House or Sport Resort? by Liisa Reionen, Puumala
A new concept of summer homes is being introduced in Finland. For those who want more from their summer home then just looking after the garden, there now is an opportunity to buy a house in a specially created sports resort area, with all the sports facilities available for the use of the neighbourhood.
|
| 88 |
Fishing for Pleasure and Profit
Interview with Pekka Sivonen, founder of Blue White Resorts – a chain of active tourism resorts in Finland and Russia. They are focused on providing their clients with an opportunity to enjoy their favourite hobby – fishing.
|
| 90 |
‛Subi“ – new concept
The necessity for family cars with more seating space might be the reason for such an amount of new cars that look like a cross between a jeep and a 7-seater. One of them is B9 Tribeca – Subaru’s new model that has been very popular in the USA.
|
| 95 |
Business Legislation
Real-estate in Finland (continued): What rights and obligations as owner of a piece of land do you have? (Materials prepared by NordLex Law offices)
|
