Sweden's Saab wins historic Nato deal to replace American Awacs surveillance aircraft
Nato plans to replace its current fleet of American Awacs aircraft with Saab's Globaleye for its future airborne surveillance of air, sea and land, it announced at a summit in Ankara.
"This is a proud moment for Sweden," the TT newswire quoted Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson as saying.
It means that, for the first time, Nato will have an airborne surveillance capability that is not American.
The 14 Awacs aircraft that Nato currently relies on first entered service back in the 1980s and are beginning to reach the end of their lifespan, said Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.
The Globaleye aircraft are already in production and have been used for several years by the United Arab Emirates. According to Saab's CEO, they have performed exceptionally well during the Iran conflict.
Sweden is expected to receive its own deliveries of the aircraft in 2027.
"It is absolutely fantastic to have the opportunity to supply Nato with this capability," Saab CEO Micael Johansson told TT.
According to him, the Globaleye planes will be able to see deep into Russia, even while flying at a safe distance from potential attacks.
The fleet of up to ten Globaleye planes will be funded by 11 Nato allies, including Sweden, Germany and Norway. They will then be placed at Nato's disposal and will likely be based in Germany.
No contracts have been signed yet, and negotiations lie ahead. However, according to Johansson, the price for a single Globaleye aircraft is around 400 to 450 million dollars, equivalent to roughly 40 billion kronor for ten planes.
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If the contracts are signed now, Saab could begin delivering four to six Globaleye platforms per year starting from 2030, Micael Johansson notes.
This will mean hundreds of new jobs in Linköping and Gothenburg. However, the aircraft themselves are manufactured by the Canadian company Bombardier, and key components will also be produced in France.
Kristersson attended the announcement of Nato's plans and described the day as a major milestone for Nato, Saab and Sweden.
"As prime minister, I am immensely proud of the Swedish defense industry and its engineering excellence," he said.
Swedish vocabulary: to replace – att ersätta
Sweden plans to fine companies with frustratingly poor customer service
Many people will likely recognise the frustration of getting stuck in a long phone queue or a loop with a chatbot when trying to cancel a subscription or get help resolving an issue.
What if they could be fined? That's what the Swedish government is trying to achieve with a new legislative proposal.
"Our goal is for consumers to experience much smoother interactions with company customer services than they do today," Public Administration Minister Erik Slottner told a press conference.
There are already rules in place for companies operating customer services. For one, there are requirements regarding the visibility of contact information, as well as promptness – meaning they must respond within a reasonable timeframe. What is lacking, however, is the ability to impose sanctions.
"We are now going to tighten the requirements on companies' customer services," said Slottner. "Courts will, to a greater extent, be able to issue conditional fines to companies that fail to meet the requirements for accessible customer support."
If customer services do not become more efficient and customer-focused, there is a high risk that customers will be kept trapped in contracts they actually want to cancel, he believes.
According to Slottner, there is a vast number of unreported cases regarding company shortcomings, making it difficult to keep statistics on the matter. While it is possible to report faults in goods and services to the Swedish Consumer Agency and the National Board for Consumer Disputes, it is not possible to report deficiencies in the customer service itself, he explains.
"Therefore, we don't have much knowledge today about how big the problem is, apart from the supervision reports that the Consumer Agency has produced."
The proposals in a draft referral now submitted to the Council on Legislation – which scrutinises bills before they go before parliament to ensure they are in line with the Swedish constitution and existing legislation – are based on an investigation carried out by the Consumer Agency and apply to sectors including retail, hotels and restaurants, construction and trade services, and personal services such as hairdressers and beauty salons.
The Consumer Ombudsman would monitor compliance with the rules and be able to take action against non-compliant companies and report them to court. If the company does not comply with the directive, it would face a conditional fine, meaning a demand for improvements. Ultimately, fines and injunctions would be decided by the Patent and Market Court, under the government's proposal.
A typical fine for a non-compliant company could range from one to two million kronor. However, the amount would be determined based on the company's size and financial circumstances, and would be of a scale that acts as a deterrent.
The new law, if approved in parliament, is proposed to enter into force on March 1st, 2027.
Swedish vocabulary: customer service – kundtjänst
Skandiabanken leads the pack as Swedish mortgage rates continue to fall
Both fixed and variable mortgage rates fell in June, according to the monthly roundup by comparison service Zmarta.
According to the survey of the country's 13 largest banks, Skandiabanken offers the lowest average variable rate at 2.59 percent, while Hypoteket and Ikano Bank offer their customers the highest variable rate at 2.95 percent.
The average variable mortgage rate across the banks amounted to 2.75 percent in June. Meanwhile, the average three-year fixed rate fell to 3.30 percent (down from 3.41 percent in May), and the five-year average fell to 3.51 percent in June from 3.55 percent in May.
For variable interest rates, the discrepancy between the banks translates into 3,600 kronor per year in extra mortgage expenses for every million kronor borrowed. For those with a three-year fixed term, the difference is 4,600 kronor, while for five-year average rates, the gap reaches nearly 5,000 kronor per million borrowed.
Swedish vocabulary: to borrow – att låna
Sweden faces another gruelling summer for midwives
Sweden's midwives are facing another tough summer. Many believe that staffing levels are insufficient, according to a survey by the Swedish Association of Health Professionals.
Out of 22 maternity wards, 18 responded to the union's survey. A resounding 94 percent believe that staffing is inadequate this summer, while 45 percent assess the situation to be worse than in previous years.
In some cases, patient safety is being compromised, according to the midwives. Furthermore, 72 percent state that entire units have been shut down over the summer period.
"This is a clear sign that the system is not functioning as it should. There are midwives available, but the working conditions and planning are not enough to make the staffing add up," Sophia Godau, chair of the Swedish Association of Health Professionals, said in a statement.
Staffing gaps are being plugged with overtime, extra shifts, and altered holiday plans. The situation is reported to be most severe in the Västerbotten region.
Swedish vocabulary: a midwife – en barnmorska