The Scandinavian countries showed the way two decades ago.

They felt that enlargement even to the Scandinavian and Alpine countries was going too far.

Of course, it is dangerous to idealize the Scandinavian model. Scandinavian countries have their share of problems, such as Denmark s significant xenophobic extreme right and Norway s occasional bouts of provincial puritanism.

In the Scandinavian countries, as in the US, foreign competition intensified sharply during the past decade.

In the 1980 s, Scandinavian countries stood for chronic budget deficits, high inflation, and repeated devaluations.

The date is usually put somewhere in the early 11th century in all three Scandinavian countries.

(They are strongly opposed by Holland, the Scandinavian countries, and the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe, which are familiar with communist repression.)

As the past decade shows, they have served the Scandinavian countries well during a period of extreme internationalization.

Moreover, Italy spends around 4.5 of GDP on education, while the Scandinavian countries spend more than 6 of GDP.

Certain Scandinavian countries, Chinese provinces, and the city state of Singapore, for example, are ideally positioned to try this approach.

Scandinavian countries have their share of problems, such as Denmark s significant xenophobic extreme right and Norway s occasional bouts of provincial puritanism.

The three Baltic states will most likely cooperate much more closely with the Scandinavian countries than with the other new members.

In the 2005 rankings, Iceland scored as the least corrupt country, with the Scandinavian countries, New Zealand, and Singapore close behind.

Could the Scandinavian model work for others?

To be sure, Scandinavian growth is mediocre.

But the Scandinavian countries have shown that there is another way. Of course, government, like the private sector, must strive for efficiency.

But the example set by Scandinavian countries, which combine a generous welfare state with pro business policies and traditions, repudiates such claims.

In the Scandinavian countries, as opposed to, say, Germany and the US, the government, not individual companies, are responsible for most social benefits.

The Benelux countries, some Scandinavian states, and many of the new Europeans of East Central Europe have chosen traditionally right of centre parties.

The differences for instance between the Scandinavian countries, the Mediterranean countries, and the liberal Atlantic countries like Ireland and the UK are sometimes more pronounced than those between Europe as a whole and the US.

Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law, University of Oslo, Oslo

Of course, it is dangerous to idealize the Scandinavian model.

This November, Nord Stream was given a surprising go ahead by three Scandinavian countries that will lend their seabed to the project Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.

While most of the world s advanced countries face increasing difficulties in coping with the forces of globalization and competition from low wage countries, the Scandinavian countries Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden seem to have managed these challenges quite well.

These include epic crises in the Scandinavian countries, Spain, and Japan, along with lesser events such as the US savings and loan crises of the 1980 s.

With average yearly GDP growth of 2.2 from 1995 to 2005 it fell short of the non Scandinavian countries of the EU 15, which grew by 2.8 on average.

On average the share of state employment in the workforce across Scandinavia is 32.7 , compared to only 18.5 on average in the non Scandinavian countries of the EU 15.

Margaret I (, , , ), (March 1353 28 October 1412), was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and founder of the Kalmar Union, which united the Scandinavian countries for over a century.

While the Board distanced itself from the pyramid, KF continued to promote it, and food pyramids were developed in other Scandinavian countries, as well as West Germany, Japan and Sri Lanka.

Sweden ( ), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish ), is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe.

Human Rights Violations and Mental Health (Lavik, Sveaass, Nygard, Fannemel) Scandinavian University Press (1994).

The third option is the Scandinavian way. Here government demand for labor keeps wages high.

This was done by combining the bloodlines of both the Scandinavian and British Russian Blues.

It has led to a partnership with Scandinavian broadcasters, who are now conducting a similar experiment.

With the possible exception of the four Scandinavian countries, no society with a market economy found, or even sought, the equilibrium between state and market necessary to maintain a sufficient level of public services.

The key point is that France and Germany, and many other European countries including the Scandinavian countries, with their considerable wind and hydropower potential are all recognizing that the world as a whole will have to move away from a fossil fuel based energy system.

The Asian challenge, particularly from China, should encourage us to reconsider the validity of the Scandinavian model.

This is the Scandinavian tradition of design of IT artifacts and it has been evolving since 1970.

Hyvinkää is known among Scandinavian golf enthusiasts due to Kytäjä golf, located at the countryside of Hyvinkää.

During the 1380s a civil war in the Scandinavian part of Sweden brought unrest to Finland, too.

Together with the Scandinavian and British constituencies, there are thus eight EU representatives on the IMF s executive board.

Early medieval records indicate that over 60 of personal names in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire showed Scandinavian influence.

The Scandinavian social compact rests on the understanding that citizens must pay high taxes in exchange for public services.

For example, in high inequality societies, where poor households are deprived of economic and educational opportunities, economic growth is depressed. Then there are the Scandinavian countries, where egalitarian policies evidently have not stood in the way of economic prosperity.

A Scandinavian level of taxes would be bearable if public services did not remain inferior to those offered in Scandinavia.