Boris Johnson visiting Sweden today

UK prime minister Boris Johnson is in Sweden today in order to visit Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson at Harpsund, her official summer residence.

The purpose for the visit is Europe’s security situation, as well as cooperation between Sweden and the UK.

According to unconfirmed reports in tabloid Aftonbladet, Johnson is in Sweden to sign an agreement to deepen defence and security cooperation between the countries, relating to the possible vulnerable position Sweden could be in prior to being granted Nato membership if it submits an application to the Nato alliance.

Johnson and Andersson will hold a shared press conference at 1.40pm on Wednesday.

Following the press conference, Johnson will then travel onwards to Helsinki, where he will meet with Finland’s president Sauli Niinistö. The goal of that meeting is the same: Johnson and Niinistö will discuss the European security situation and then hold a press conference together.

Swedish vocabulary: säkerhetsläget – the security situation

Extra Nato debate announced for Monday

According to reports from public broadcaster SVT, an extra Nato debate will be held in parliament on Monday.

This will follow the Social Democrats’ announcement of their decision over whether to apply to the alliance, expected on Sunday May 15th.

“According to my sources, parliament will hold an extra debate on Nato membership,” SVT’s political commentator Mats Knutson said. “It’s in order to debate the security policy analysis the parties present on Friday, prior to any eventual Nato membership application”.

The parliamentary calendar states that on Monday, the government will give information on the security policy analysis.

Swedish vocabulary: en extrainsatt debatt – an extra debate

SAS cancels 4,000 flights

Scandinavian airline SAS will cancel around 4,000 flights over summer. According to press officer Karin Nyman, it covers the period between May and August, for which the company had a total of 75,000 flights planned.

“The vast majority of travellers won’t be affected by this, other than they will be rebooked to a flight within a few hours or on the same day,” Nyman told newspaper Dagens Industri (DI).

In total, around five percent of flights will be affected.

Nyman told the newspaper that the reason behind the cancellations is a staff shortage combined with delayed deliveries of new aeroplanes.

The pilot’s union told DI that they had warned of staff shortages in summer on multiple occasions.

Flight expert Jan Ohlsson agrees that staff shortages are a problem.

“SAS have loads of planes, loads of flight routes but no one flying the planes. There’s a total overcapacity,” he told TT.

He said that numerous experts have warned SAS of this situation. Despite this, SAS has put even more planes, including older planes with their livery changed, into rotation. The lack of staff means that they need to hire in pilots from external companies to get the planes flying.

“SAS have put themselves in a difficult situation,” Ohlsson told TT. “I – and others with me – think that SAS should have fewer planes flying instead and should be looking at which routes they are even flying at all”.

Swedish vocabulary: flygningar – flights