PRESS EUROPEAN

Denmark

Price halt

HOUSE prices have fallen at their fastest rate in more than a decade in Denmark, one of the most expensive property markets in Europe. According to Eurostat, in the third quarter of 2022 Denmark's house prices fell by 3.8 per cent.

The Netherlands

Electrification rise

PASSENGER car sales in the Netherlands decreased in December and in the full year of 2022, but electrification continues to rise, reaching very solid levels. According to EV Volumes' data, 15,757 new plug-in cars were registered in December, which is roughly 32 per cent less than a year ago.

Belgium

No smoking

THE number of smokers in Belgium decreased for the second year in a row from 2021 to 2022. According to a survey by the Foundation Against Cancer, 24 per cent of Belgians reported smoking daily or occasionally last year, compared to 29 per cent in 2020 and 27 per cent in 2021.

Germany

Tidy turnover

TURNOVER in accommodation and food services in Germany rose by a whopping 47 per cent year on year in 2022 in real terms despite high inflation. The Federal Statistics Office confirmed the news on January 19. “The sector benefited from the easing of pandemic restrictions,” they said.

France

Top spot

FRANCE regains the top spot as the bloc’s main electricity provider. Following a record year for electricity imports, the relatively mild weather and the relaunch of nuclear reactors, France started 2023 by exporting more electricity to its neighbouring countries than it imports.

Norway

Enigmatic history

ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Norway claim to have the world's oldest rune stone with inscriptions up to 2,000 years old that date back to the earliest days of the enigmatic history of runic writing. “They may be the earliest example of words recorded in writing in Scandinavia,” the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo said.

Finland

Travel Fair

THE Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs was present at the Matka Nordic Travel Fair, held at Messukeskus in Helsinki from January 19 until 22. The government confirmed that Finns are again interested in travelling abroad after being grounded during the pandemic years.

Ireland

Brilliant BloodBox

STUDENTS at Sutton Park School in Dublin have been named winners of the 2023 Self Help Africa/Irish Aid Science for Development award. They developed BloodBox, a portable diagnostic device to diagnose diseases including malaria. The device allows blood samples to be tested for disease with 94 per cent accuracy.

Italy

Italian transfer

HUNGARIAN low-cost airline, Wizz Air, will withdraw its base in Bari, Puglia region, effective February 16. The move was confirmed by Wizz Air in a press release, where it confirmed the two Airbus A320 aircraft will be transferred to their largest bases in the country, Milan/Malpensa and Rome/Fiumicino.

Portugal

Portuguese connection

PORTUGAL'S Infrastructures has set 2025 as the date to finish the section of the new Evora-Elvas railway line, which will connect Badajoz with the Spanish network and put into service a direct Madrid-Lisbon train with a travel time of five hours instead of the current nine hours and two transfers.

Ukraine

Economic opportunities

THE war may still be ongoing but looking to the future, Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of the transportation company Uber, has recently visited Ukraine to imagine how the company might eventually operate after peace is established. His interest lies in the economic opportunities that it might create.

Sweden

Cleaning crows

IN exchange for food, wild crows volunteer to pick up cigarette butts from the streets of Sodertalje in Sweden. According to the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, 62 per cent of all litter is cigarette butts and more than one billion of them are left on the country’s streets each year.