Iceland’s Minister of Welfare has called for the healthcare system to be first in line to benefit from any potential easing in next year’s national budget. The minister has spent recent days visiting health centres and hospitals in northern Iceland. Read the full story

European co-operation in education and science has netted Iceland ten billion kronur over the last 15 years, according to a University of Iceland source. Read the full story

Norway is urging rich nations to provide deforestation aid money to poorer countries, despite the risk of corruption. Read the full story

Iceland has the right to European Union funding due to the cost of the membership application process. This is a conclusion of a new report from the EU which states that all countries applying for EU membership have the right to EU funding even before becoming full members. Read the full story

Multimillion krona funding from now bankrupt companies FL Group and Old Landsbanki to the Independence Party will be paid back over seven years, it was revealed in the Icelandic parliament yesterday. Read the full story

The editor-in-chief of the Swedish newspaper Fokus, has resigned from his position on the Press Subsidies Council after an extreme-rightwing newspaper was awarded state funds. Read the full story

The Finnish government is compiling a renewable energy support package which could inject a billion euros into environmentally friendly power.

The existing proposals put aside 170 million euros a year each, for bio fuels, wind power and wood chip technology. While divisions remain within the Finnish government over the details of any package, an agreement is expected to be reached in weeks, reports YLE.

Mauri Pekkarinen, the Minister for Economic Affairs, is campaigning for support for the renewable energy sector to remain separate from new license grants for further nuclear reactors. Pekkarinen said an agreement over renewable energy should be reached before further consideration could be given to how many nuclear reactors are required.

Pekkarinen supports the addition of one new reactor, whereas his National Coalition cabinet colleagues are hoping that all three pending licenses will be granted. The National Coalition believe that the two issues are interwoven and have demaded assurances from Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen that a cabinet majority will support the nuclear programme before agreeing to any energy policy decisions. The Greens are vehemetly opposed to any further expansion of the country’s nuclear power production capacity.

Finland has agreed to an EU commitment to increase renewable energy resources to 38 percent of its total energy production by 2020. In the most recent report in 2005, the renewable energy share was below 30 percent.

Frumtak, a united investment fund run by Icelandic pension funds and banks, has confirmed that it has bought shares in the Icelandic computer games maker Gogogic for ISK 150 million (USD 1.2 million). Read the full story

Budget restraints at the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) have resulted in job cuts of up to 50 percent among alcohol researchers. Read the full story

The feared cutbacks in Reykjavik City’s welfare provision will not happen, despite the welfare department’s budget cuts next year. Read the full story