So why is Sweden so supportive of whaling?
Behind the scenes of the European Union there is a debate rolling on amongst the member countries. On one side is Denmark arguing to give its Greenlandic whalers more whales to kill, despite the fact that they cannot kill all the whales the IWC has already said they can take. Opposing them there is a range of EU countries that have seen through the paucity of the Greenlandic arguments and who are increasingly concerned that Greenland is industrializing its ASW whaling.
Aligned with with Denmark is that home of one of our favourite European stores, birthplace of some great tennis players and winners of the Eurovision Song Contest (when you really had to be able to sing)- Sweden. So why are the normally conservation-minded Swedes so adamant that more whales should die?
Well it seems that there seems to be some Scandinavian intrigue going on. Maybe it's some historical alliance, and maybe it's because they are rather keen on bringing their neighbours into the European Union. Iceland Review notes that Sweden's Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt announced at a press conference after a meeting between the Nordic foreign ministers in Reykjavík on the 9th June that 'during their upcoming six-month presidency of the European Union, Sweden will prioritize Iceland’s admission...' He is quoted as saying "...we would prioritize a membership application from Iceland because of the EEA agreement...with that, Iceland has already completed three quarters of the journey to a merge with Europe.” The report goes onto say that 'Stubb, the Finnish Foreign Minister, was not as confident, “I would like to see Iceland join the EU as quickly as possible, but I emphasize that you shouldn’t have too high expectations. This is a difficult process"...Stubb then added, “My argument is that every decision which makes it easier for Iceland to join the EU should be celebrated.”’
Well, one of the first things Iceland ought to decide that we could all celebrate is to renounce its whaling. It’s going to find it extremely difficult to whale inside the EU, which has consistently said that its regulations ban commercial whaling.
Of course Greenland might be trying to create some sort of new definition of whaling encouraged by the willingness of Sweden and others to pursue the current discussions on Chairman Hogarth's compromise for Japan's so-called ‘coastal whaling’. Sweden's support for Greenland's increasingly commercialized ASW whaling may be part of some bigger game that it is playing, thinking that if it cannot get a compromise one way, maybe it can create the precedent by yet some other path.
So is Sweden doing the best for conservation, or is it playing bigger politics in the Arctic? It seems to be willing to bet a lot of whales on the outcome.
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Thank-you for this great article. I am really starting to understand how political whaling is. I have written several posts on killing whales,dolphins and seals. It was Canadians seal hunt that ended up showing me just how political hunting marine mammals is. Once I realized that the Prime Minister Stephen Harper was similar to our former President George Bush. At that point I questioned if sending petitions, and emails to him would make any difference. It surely wouldn't have with George Bush.
My latest article was on Whaling in Norway. That was when I began exploring blogs and reading more posts about the Nordic countries.
Thanks for your post I learned a great deal. Hopefully the EU will make Iceland cease their whaling activities. Will the battle to live in peace ever end for our friends of the sea.
Swedish companies are in general very productive and environmentally conscious