Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Magdalena Andersson in the US, property prices drop and Turkey's Nato objections. Here's Sweden's news on Thursday.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to visit US President Biden
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is in Washington today alongside Finland's president Sauli Niinistö. The two will visit US President Joe Biden to discuss the war in Ukraine and Turkey's opposition to their Nato applications, which were handed in yesterday.
"The meeting is an important security policy signal," Andersson wrote on her Instagram account from Washington DC.
The two Nordic leaders boarded the flight to Washington DC shortly after their Nato ambassadors applied to join the alliance.
At the meeting in the White House today, the delicate security situation in both Finland and Sweden will be discussed. A number of countries, including the USA, have stated that they will support Sweden and Finland in the period before their Nato applications are approved by all member states in the alliance.
A final approval could take up to a year, and Russia is expected to react to the two countries joining Nato in some way.
Sweden and Finland's decision to join the Nato alliance was applauded by Ukrainians taking part in a demonstration outside the White House.
Swedish vocabulary: stöd - support
Property prices plummet after central bank increases inflation rate
Property prices have dropped after the Swedish central bank increased inflation rates.
At the same time, the amount of apartments on property website Hemnet has increased to a record level, as sellers seek to get their property on the market quickly.
Valueguard's price index, which measures changes in prices, sank by 1.7 percent in the two first weeks of May in the Stockholm region. In Gothenburg, prices decreased by 1.3 when compared with April.
This is the first property price measurement in May since the central bank decided to increase key index rates by 0.25 percent while also sharply raising their interest rate forecast.
Having said that, there was also a decrease in property prices in April - 0.3 percent for apartments and 0.5 percent for houses.
Swedish vocabulary: en nedgång - a decrease
Turkish president Erdogan urges Nato to ‘respect’ concerns over Sweden joining
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened to block Finland and Sweden from joining Nato, urged the alliance's members on Wednesday to "respect" Ankara's concerns about the two countries, which Turkey accuses of harbouring terrorists.
“Our only expectation from Nato allies is… to first understand our sensitivity, respect and finally support it,” Erdogan told his party’s legislators in parliament.
Finland and Sweden submitted a joint application to join Nato on Wednesday May 18th as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forces a dramatic reappraisal of security in Europe.
Erdogan accused Stockholm of providing safe haven to members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) designated as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
“We asked them to extradite 30 terrorists but they refused to do so,” he said.
“You will not send back the terrorists to us and then ask our support for your Nato membership … We cannot say ‘yes’ to make this security organisation being lacking in security,” he added.
Swedish vocab: terrorister - terrorists
Comments
See Also
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to visit US President Biden
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is in Washington today alongside Finland's president Sauli Niinistö. The two will visit US President Joe Biden to discuss the war in Ukraine and Turkey's opposition to their Nato applications, which were handed in yesterday.
"The meeting is an important security policy signal," Andersson wrote on her Instagram account from Washington DC.
The two Nordic leaders boarded the flight to Washington DC shortly after their Nato ambassadors applied to join the alliance.
At the meeting in the White House today, the delicate security situation in both Finland and Sweden will be discussed. A number of countries, including the USA, have stated that they will support Sweden and Finland in the period before their Nato applications are approved by all member states in the alliance.
A final approval could take up to a year, and Russia is expected to react to the two countries joining Nato in some way.
Sweden and Finland's decision to join the Nato alliance was applauded by Ukrainians taking part in a demonstration outside the White House.
Swedish vocabulary: stöd - support
Property prices plummet after central bank increases inflation rate
Property prices have dropped after the Swedish central bank increased inflation rates.
At the same time, the amount of apartments on property website Hemnet has increased to a record level, as sellers seek to get their property on the market quickly.
Valueguard's price index, which measures changes in prices, sank by 1.7 percent in the two first weeks of May in the Stockholm region. In Gothenburg, prices decreased by 1.3 when compared with April.
This is the first property price measurement in May since the central bank decided to increase key index rates by 0.25 percent while also sharply raising their interest rate forecast.
Having said that, there was also a decrease in property prices in April - 0.3 percent for apartments and 0.5 percent for houses.
Swedish vocabulary: en nedgång - a decrease
Turkish president Erdogan urges Nato to ‘respect’ concerns over Sweden joining
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened to block Finland and Sweden from joining Nato, urged the alliance's members on Wednesday to "respect" Ankara's concerns about the two countries, which Turkey accuses of harbouring terrorists.
“Our only expectation from Nato allies is… to first understand our sensitivity, respect and finally support it,” Erdogan told his party’s legislators in parliament.
Finland and Sweden submitted a joint application to join Nato on Wednesday May 18th as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forces a dramatic reappraisal of security in Europe.
Erdogan accused Stockholm of providing safe haven to members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) designated as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
“We asked them to extradite 30 terrorists but they refused to do so,” he said.
“You will not send back the terrorists to us and then ask our support for your Nato membership … We cannot say ‘yes’ to make this security organisation being lacking in security,” he added.
Swedish vocab: terrorister - terrorists
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.