A roundup of the latest news on Monday

Skellefteå calls on Swedish government to help rescue Northvolt

Skellefteå mayor Lorents Burman called on the government to act to help save Northvolt which filed for bankruptcy last week.

“The government needs to step in and help set the ball rolling in a positive direction so that we get a new constellation of owners of the battery factory in Skellefteå,” he told Swedish public radio broadcaster Sveriges Radio’s current affairs programme Ekot. 

He said he wants the government to join talks with potential new financiers to encourage them to make a bold investment in the factory, and even more importantly, that it steps in to provide new money and loan guarantees for new owners. Skellefteå is home to Northvolt’s flagship factory and is expected to be significantly affected by the bankruptcy, in terms of employment as well as the property market and investment.

The government has said it’s doing everything it can, but has ruled out the state stepping in as an owner. It is not the tradition in Sweden that the state claims ownership to rescue ailing businesses, and there are also rules that closely monitor state support of businesses.

But Burman argued that this isn’t about saving old or outdated industries, rather the ongoing green transition. 

“Many other countries have financially entered the ownership structure to support the new industries,” he told Ekot.

The northern Swedish city of Skellefteå turned around a negative population trend around 15 years ago, and has been growing since, attracting talent from all over the world largely thanks to the investments in the area in the green transition, including Northvolt.

Swedish vocabulary: to save/rescue – att rädda

Record number of reindeer calves dead after late snow

A record number of reindeer calves died in two Sami communities in northern Sweden due to the late snow this season.

Around 60 percent of the calves died in the past winter, reports regional public radio station P4 Norrbotten. That’s twice as many as a normal year, according to Jonas Sjaunja, deputy chairman of Unne Tjerusj “Sami village”, an administrative community rather than an actual village.

Due to the late snow, the reindeer couldn’t be moved from the mountains to the forest on time, as snow mobiles are required for the transport. In the mountains, the animals are less protected from predators, especially eagles which swoop down and kill the calves.

According to Sjaunja, the high death toll will have a major financial impact on reindeer herders, who won’t be able to sell as many animals as normal to be slaughtered, and it could also have a long-term impact as it will affect the size of the herds in the future.

“Things are not looking too bright,” he said.

Swedish vocabulary: a reindeer – en ren

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Sweden invited to UK-led meeting on Ukraine

Sweden has been invited to another meeting in London to discuss Ukraine security.

“We can confirm that Sweden has been invited, but it’s a bit unclear at what level,” Swedish Armed Forces spokesperson Mikael Ågren told the TT newswire.

The invitation comes from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and follows a digital summit with 25 leaders from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. On Thursday, the next meeting is set to continue discussions on military aid for Ukraine, including potential European ground forces.

A similar meeting with held in Paris last week, attended by Sweden’s Supreme Commander Michael Claesson. It however hasn’t been confirmed who will be representing Sweden this time around, and Ågren said it will probably not be Claesson this time around.

Swedish vocabulary: Supreme Commander – överbefälhavare (or ÖB for short)

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Admissions open for autumn semester at Swedish universities

The admissions round for autumn courses at Swedish universities opens on March 17th.

Most international students will already have applied for the next semester, during the first admissions round which concluded in January, and will get their results on March 27th (for Master’s degrees) or April 3rd (for Bachelor’s degrees), but this is another chance for some.

The admissions round that opens today is the regular admissions rounds, primarily aimed at students living in Swedish. Only some of the modules and courses taught in English will still be open for application, but all of the courses in Sweden will now be available. 

“International students are welcome to apply to this round, but non-EU/EEA students who require a residence permit won’t have time to apply for and receive one,” warns Universityadmissions.se, the English-language website operated by the Swedish Council for Higher Education.

Non-EU students who come to Sweden on a student permit have to pay tuition fees, but if you already live here and are interested in taking a university course, even part-time or remotely, it’s worth noting that it is free to international residents who are here on another kind of permit.

Swedish vocabulary: admission – antagning