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After Finland closed its border with Sweden, residents of the Haparanda settlement in northern Sweden, Ida Kärkkäinen, appeared to be returning to the Cold War. Haparanda is located on the left bank of the Torneälven river, which empties into the Gulf of Botnia. On the east coast is the Finnish city of Tornio. Formally, these cities are located in different countries, but in fact they have long since merged. Now everything has changed.
“It is the impression that our city square has been pierced by the Berlin Wall,” he said. Political Ida shared.
Many Swedes living on the border understand their surprise not only with Finland but also with other Scandinavian countries. Many are overwhelmed by the feeling that beautiful old neighborhood relationships and integration could be severely damaged, perhaps even irreparably.
In the past, the Swedish passport opened almost all borders. Swedes have been traveling the planet unhindered for many years, but now they have considerable problems, even in Europe. Sweden is now welcomed by all Europeans, and far from all Old World countries it wants to admit the Swedes.
Most EU members have opened their borders to Europeans, but only France, Italy, Spain and Croatia have agreed to accept Swedes without restrictions. Some countries, like the Netherlands and Cyprus, do not allow them at all. Austria requires a certificate that they are not carriers of the virus, and Greece quarantines Swedes for a week, even if their tests are negative.
It is particularly painful for the Nordics that they are not actively enjoyed even in neighboring countries, where Scandinavians live in related blood, language and culture.
Copenhagen, for example, only admits Swedes who work in Denmark, transit the kingdom, and have vacation homes and relatives in Denmark. In Norway, only residents of the island of Gotland, one of the few regions in Sweden where the coronavirus situation is more or less normal, can enter without obstacles. Oslo promises to lift the restrictions when the situation in Sweden returns to normal.
“I understand this is a major disappointment,” says Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, “but the restrictions are based on objective criteria and apply equally to everyone.”
Finns, Danes and Norwegians are easy to understand. In Sweden, as of July 8, 73,858 cases of covid-19 and 5,482 deaths were recorded. In Denmark – 12,900 and 609, in Norway – 8,950 and 251, in Finland – 7,265 and 329. Sweden has more than doubled in terms of the number of infected neighbors and five times in terms of the number of deaths! And not just one country, but all three together.
Three months ago 70 years of work
Strong ties have been established between the Scandinavian countries. In addition to the Finns, the Scandinavians have a language, a culture and even their similar currencies linked together. Before the emergence of the coronavirus in Scandinavia, it was common to live in the homeland while working in a neighboring country, which was able to travel unhindered and return at least ten times a day.
With the formation of the Nordic Passport Union in 1952 and its entry into force two years later, Scandinavians were able to travel throughout the region for many years without even presenting documents at the border. Incidentally, the Passport Union, to which Iceland also belongs, has been used as a model for the concept of open borders of a united Europe.
Scanpix photo / Living in Sweden after a month and a half of a pandemic
Sweden is the leader in the Scandinavian region. At least that’s what the Swedes think. They have the preconditions to think that, but that does not prevent neighbors from complaining about their arrogance and claiming exclusivity.
Sweden has a population of 10.3 million. it beats each neighbor almost twice, and by an area and a half. The Swedish economy is much more deeply integrated into the global one. Swedish companies Volvo, Ikea, Ericsson, Electrolux, H&M are known on all continents.
Swedes are now probably more disappointed that they were unable to save the economy. Although Swedish factories and companies have not closed in the past three months, Sweden is entering the deepest recession since World War II. Suffice it to mention that 40% of companies in the service sector are at high risk of bankruptcy.
The economy, which is highly dependent on foreign trade (exports account for about half of GDP), is expected to contract by 7% this year. And this forecast is made by the Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson. According to her, the kingdom faces a “very serious crisis” and the economy is declining much faster than anticipated.
Dozens of large stores built primarily for Norwegians in western Sweden are now empty, with a 90% drop in shoppers. Empty souvenir and shops in Stockholm, serving Finns arriving by ferry.
Economists estimate that further integration of the Greater Copenhagen and southern Sweden regions could generate DKK 3 billion (€ 400 million) annually. These plans have to be forgotten.
“Now our situation is controversial,” said Philip Sandberg, mayor of Lund, half an hour from the Eresund Bridge, which connects Sweden with Denmark. “Weaker integration will exacerbate recession and unemployment.”
Sweden also differs from its neighbors in its softer approach to migrants. As a result, a quarter of Swedes are now immigrants.
Denmark, Sweden’s main “antipode”, if that is the case, has chosen a different course. Copenhagen has introduced strict restrictions on the number of migrants and requires that they be assimilated into Danish society.
“Due to different approaches to foreigners and crime, a gap has emerged between Sweden and Denmark, which is now the largest since World War II,” said Jakob Nielsen, head of the Danish and Swedish political website Altinget.dk . editor.
With Norway, which was part of Sweden until 1905, the situation is somewhat different. It seems that Norwegians would have more reason not to love Swedes, but this is not the case because many Norwegians in Sweden have relatives.
“Put us in a corner”
In recent years, fans of Scandinavian culture gather at the Allsang pa Grensen (Singing on the Wall) festival every summer on the Norwegian border with Sweden. The festival will be held 14 times this year, but there will be no spectators or artists from Sweden.
“We will be short of Swedes this year” New York Times said Olle Evenrud, a regular festival participant in the border town of Halden, “but I don’t mind closing the borders.”
It seems that the Swedes have now managed to gain recognition for their exclusivity, albeit just the way they wanted in Stockholm. Sweden’s new status as a pariah country is now an important issue in Scandinavia. It has been hotly debated, for example, on the popular weekly radio show “Norwegian, Swedish and Danish” in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
“We cannot go to Norway,” complains Åsa Linderborg, a famous Swedish writer and historian. – We cannot go to Denmark, not even to Finland. They built us in a corner, but the most unpleasant thing is that you like it. It is a lot of fun for all Norwegians, Danes and Finns not to let the Swedes be anywhere. You know, I miss you, and you don’t miss me … “
The current closure of the border could have a very serious impact on the Scandinavian integration process that began almost seven decades ago.
“Many (Swedes) think they were betrayed by closing the walls,” explains Philip Sandberg. “It is difficult to believe in the future of integration, to see how things can change in just one day.”
The current situation clearly shows how an epidemic can cause something like a diplomatic crisis in countries that fight the virus differently and have different levels of morbidity and mortality.
In March, when the pandemic was just beginning in Europe, there were several heated debates in various countries on the continent about methods to combat it. Before the grunt, officials in the Netherlands and Belgium, for example, argued. The same was true in Britain, where the English quarreled with the Scots. But the clearest example of these disagreements has been Sweden, which has gone its own way and is now trying to re-establish old ties with its neighbors.
“I am concerned that these scars will last a long time,” admits Ann Linde, director of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
By prolonging the ban on Swedes from entering Norway in mid-June, Prime Minister Erna Solberg acknowledged that the seam of Scandinavian integration is now a crisis. “It must be honestly recognized that difficult times have now come for the northern region,” he told reporters.
The first cracks in the Nordic Passport Union, a key symbol of Scandinavian integration, appeared when Denmark closed its border with Sweden in 2015 due to the crisis caused by the flow of immigrants to Europe. For the second time, controls at the Swedish border were tightened again by Denmark last year. The reason was then the high level of crime in neighboring countries and the threat of its spread in the Kingdom of Denmark. The third shutdown in March this year was explained by the threat of spread of the coronavirus from Sweden.
“Healing will take time”
Swedish officials, including, of course, Anders Tegnell, the “architect” of the Swedish anti-coronavirus model, believe Sweden is viewed with prejudice.
Scanpix / Sweden photo during a coronavirus pandemic
“We are absolutely certain that our immunity is stronger than in all other Scandinavian countries,” Tegnell said at a press conference in Stockholm recently.
According to him, the Swedes were not seeking to acquire collective immunity, but due to stronger immunity, there are fewer patients in his country who need hospitalization. He is also convinced that the epidemic in the kingdom is now decreasing.
Incidentally, Anders Tegnello, who until recently was one of the planet’s top “news creators”, also seems to be watching Sweden. To put it mildly, sad mortality statistics lowered their rating from 69% in April to 60%, according to the Ipsos survey.
Experts from neighboring countries point out that the test results do not support Swedish officials’ claims about strong immunity. Furthermore, they are convinced that the Swedes would not have much success in objecting to anything in terms of mortality.
“Looking at the deaths, it’s hard to believe: 5,000 people died of coronaviruses in Sweden and 230 in Norway,” said Gro Harlem Brundtland, three-time WHO prime minister and Norwegian director of Norway. “It will take a couple of years of hard work to close the gap.”
Despite objective statistics, the Swedes insist that they are being treated unfairly.
“It is sad and confusing how easily the borders of our region are closed,” said Linde, a key Swedish diplomat, noting that infection rates in southern Sweden were much lower than in neighboring Denmark. – It will take time to heal. This wall closure is too rough, it is difficult to understand. Many more people have died in Copenhagen … “
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