Something to chew on
I do not suppose many people have heard of the Åland Islands, but they are an autonomous archipelago in the Baltic Sea, ruled by Finland but Swedish speaking.
Anyway, the Alanders look to have got themselves into a bit of a hole, because ferries registered in the islands have been selling this stuff:
They are not the grim teabags they appear to be, but rather are pouches of snus, a chewing tobacco popular in Sweden and Norway, but banned elsewhere in the EU.
And this is where the Alanders have a problem. Quite a big one, actually, as the EU is intent on levying a fine for this wickedness, and "Åland and Finland have an agreement according to which Åland pays its own EU fines". So €2m, and counting, is not an insignificant sum, and works out at about €75 per head.
But how is the EU going to get its greasy mitts on the money, I wonder?
Meanwhile, the islands have their own top level internet domain in .ax.
Anyway, the Alanders look to have got themselves into a bit of a hole, because ferries registered in the islands have been selling this stuff:
They are not the grim teabags they appear to be, but rather are pouches of snus, a chewing tobacco popular in Sweden and Norway, but banned elsewhere in the EU. And this is where the Alanders have a problem. Quite a big one, actually, as the EU is intent on levying a fine for this wickedness, and "Åland and Finland have an agreement according to which Åland pays its own EU fines". So €2m, and counting, is not an insignificant sum, and works out at about €75 per head.
But how is the EU going to get its greasy mitts on the money, I wonder?
Meanwhile, the islands have their own top level internet domain in .ax.
Labels: EU fun and games, Finland
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 9:57 am.
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Actually, it will be very interesting how they "access" these fines. Let's watch this one.
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