Sweden is providing its largest military aid package yet to Ukraine, valued at €1.1 billion. The package includes radar reconnaissance and control aircraft (ASC890), armored personnel carriers, artillery shells, and resources for equipment maintenance. Sweden also donates the entire Swedish stock of Pansarbandvagn 302.
@noelreports The PBV302 is a rather old design. It’s kind of an improved M113. Amphibious. 20 mm cannon. Many variants. Commissioned in 1966, decommissioned in 2014. About 650 were built, some have been scrapped, unclear how many were kept in storage. Could be a few hundred.
On September 3, 1967, Sweden switched to driving on the right side of the road, to align their traffic standards with everyone else.
Looking at how many countries around the UK and Ireland actually drive on the right side of the road, it really is astounding to me, these two countries never thought of following the common standard.
@w7voa This is just a clarification, and no change of policy. Ukraine alone decide how they defend themselves against an aggressor. That was made clear again in this statement, that also emphasized that Sweden expect that Ukraine adheres to international law.
@therightarticle Stricter external borders, including the entry/exit system, was - together with the single market and the expansion eastwards - British achievements in the EU. It’s both sad and ironic.
@randahl Shameful of Biden to push the false narrative that the ICC claim there’s “equivalence” between Israel and Hamas, or that Israel has no right to defend itself. The ICC prosecutor clearly did no such thing, on the contrary. He only claim international law, like the Geneva convention, is being violated.
@IndependenceDay The union between Norway and Sweden was not finally dissolved until 1905.
But the first draft of the Norwegian constitution was approved at Eidsvoll May 16 1814. The following day Christian Fredrik was elected king of Norway and signed the constitution.
@euractiv_politics The Liberals (Renew Europe) and Christian Democrats (EPP) have aligned themselves with Sweden’s Victor Orban, Jimmy Åkesson, so it’s hard to tell exactly how “pro-EU” they actually are. #EU#Sweden
@randahl The beauty in this photo is that in a democracy different opinions are allowed and respected. While the vast majority of people in Finland and Sweden were definitely in favor of joining NATO, a few were against, and many would have liked to see a proper debate on if and how, and an election or a referendum before applying.
The (arguably necessary) rush means that the memberships now stand on a less than ideal democratic foundation, and that could become a problem in the future.
We make fun of US citizens who lack geographic knowledge and yet many people from different European countries now believe that the UK has left Europe.
Let's make this clear: Europe is a continent and the UK remains in Europe. Even part of Turkey is in Europe.
The British did instead leave the European Union, which is a group of member States agreeing to a common legislation and free movement of people and merchandise (no tax, no visas).
@s1m0n4 Bilateral agreements are politically correct in the UK, but much more limited. The UK has been quite clear they’re going it alone. No other country in Europe aren’t already in, on its way into, or in very close cooperation with the EU/EES. The UK alone is heading in the opposite direction. Which of course is a valid option. My assumption is just that the geology of Europe or maps arbitrarily dividing the earth into continents is perhaps not how most people tend to think about it.
@s1m0n4 I agree the British are much more European than they like to admit. Just look at the EU today: after all this time is it anything the French first envisioned? No. Is it everything the British made it become? Yes, very much so.
Absolutely no one claims the UK or even the GB has drifted away from the European continent. And yet, for all practical purposes it’s not incorrect to express in general speech that “the UK left Europe”.
@s1m0n4 From a time zone perspective Poland is Central Europe, while Finland is East Europe. Historically, at least after WWII, Poland was seen as Eastern European, at least by others. But I also think that the reasons we used to divide Europe in east and west have diminished since the Cold War ended.
The Iceland and the UK, together with Ireland, are good examples that geography doesn’t determine in people’s minds whether a country is “European”. Whether it wants to be part matters more.