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Unemployment in Strömstad has increased by 75 percent since Norway closed its borders. The Swedish Minister for Foreign Trade is asking the Norwegian authorities for help.
The pandemic and the disruption of cross-border trade between Norway and Sweden have driven Strömstad in northern Bohuslän into a deep crisis. With the exception of short periods, the border has been closed since last spring.
In one year, unemployment in the township has risen by 75 percent and Mayor Kent Hansson believes it is just the beginning.
– These are between 1,500 and 2,000 people who have now been notified of layoffs or have been laid off. There are more than 20 percent of the healthy population in the township, Hansson says.
20 percent develop mental disorders
Many companies now feel compelled to report layoffs, he says.
Ask Norway for a special solution
– The economic crisis has hit Strömstad harder than other municipalities, says Foreign Minister Anna Hallbe.
On Wednesday he participated in a digital meeting with representatives of the municipality and the business community.
– We have tried every conceivable measure. What we can do is keep working to reopen the borders, says Hallberg.
She says that the Swedish authorities hope that Norway can open up to a special solution, as is the case in Tornedalen, where Finland has opened the borders for those who live in the border municipalities.
Puts America in a Historic Situation
– For that I have tried to work and press. But until now, Norway has chosen to view the border closure as an effective way to stop the infection. We don’t think it is, Hallberg says.
Extra exposed
Although closed borders affect all municipalities with cross-border trade, Strömstad is particularly vulnerable. The reason is that the city has a particularly large tourism industry. Many companies used to place their meetings and encounters halfway between Gothenburg and Oslo. Now this industry is also on fire.
The meeting also discussed the social and emotional consequences of the border closure.
– It is important to raise these issues in contact with the other Nordic governments. It is about the union or lack of union of people. I felt how difficult the situation was. It will be easier for me to get the message across after this, Hallberg says after the meeting.
