The Week That Was, August 9th– 16th 2020:

Posted on 16. Aug, 2020 in: TWTW

Coronavirus/ What happened last week:

As corona infections continue to rise, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the government is prepared to do whatever’s needed and will go to ‘great lengths’ to avoid a new lockdown – head of the National Serum Institute, Kåre Mølbak, said he’s confident the epidemic can be kept under control through autumn and winter until a vaccine is found.

Previously unseen e-mail correspondence from March 11th revealed Danish Health Authority (DHA) warnings not to close down the country were never passed on to the government – despite this, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced a widescale lockdown of the private sector, schools, and ‘all unnecessary activity’, which she claimed was based on ‘recommendations from the relevant health authorities’.

Anti-immigrant parties called for a strong reaction from the government following reports that 70% of all recent corona infections were found among ethnic minorities – the Liberals’ deputy leader, Inger Støjberg, called for ‘drastic action’ while the Danish People’s Party (DPP) proposed a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people in ghettos.

The Foreign Ministry issued a warning against all unnecessary travel to Belgium and Malta, where the infection rate in both countries has risen above 30 per 100,000 inhabitants – Norway advised  against all non-essential travel to the Zealand region of Denmark (excluding Greater Copenhagen) and Central Jutland where following a strong increase in infections.

Politics/Economy:

Immigration Minister Mattias Tesfaye proposed that asylum seekers denied residency at the first attempt should be offered a cash bonus of DKK20,000 ($3,000) to return home immediately and not appeal the ruling – all refugees seekers who arrive in Denmark in the future will be required to attend a mandatory orientation course run by the newly-formed Repatriation Agency and warned very clearly about the repercussions they face if they refuse to leave Denmark voluntarily.

The Red/Greens warned they won’t support the government’s proposal of an early pension for worn-out workers if it’s financed by a rise in the overall retirement age.

Dankort and MobilePay spending in the first week of August, normally a reliable indicator of consumer confidence, was up by around 3-4% compared with 2019.

The Vegans, Denmark’s new political party, is aiming to steal green voters in a push for parliament – policy spokesman Corvinius Olesen warned all parties would be challenged on their green credentials.

The Danish housing market made a strong comeback following the corona slump in March and April – figures from website Boligsiden.dk showed that from June to July, house prices rose by 1.0%, reaching the highest level ever, while apartment prices were up 2.3% from June to July.

The inflation rate rose by 0.8% month on month in July.

Foreign Affairs/EU:

Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod called for EU sanctions on Belarus after last week’s presidential election led to a violent crackdown on journalists and demonstrators – ahead of an EU video conference the foreign ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden joined together to express their ‘grave concern’ about the violence.

The first Danish F-35 fighter jet, one of 27 that will replace Denmark’s ageing fleet of F-16s between 2021 – 2026, arrived at Lockheed Martin’s  Electronic Mate and Alignment Station (EMAS) in Fort Worth, Texas, where the final assembly of the plane will be completed.

One day after a Danish naval frigate was dispatched to the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran, Denmark’s ambassador to Libya, Julie Elisabeth Pruzan-Jørgensen, was appointed new senior civilian representative for the European-led maritime awareness mission in the region, EMASOH.

The government donated a further DKK150m ($20m) to relief efforts in Lebanon following last week’s massive blast at the port of Beirut.

Social Affairs:

Integration Minister Mattias Tesfaye dismissed the Islamist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir as ‘pathetic’ for its renewed efforts to whip up support amongst young Muslims – the extremist organization has been handing out brochures all summer in Aarhus appealing for help to ‘protect Muslim values in Denmark’ and resist those ‘anti-Islamic politicians who attack our Islamic identity’.

A new study by the ‘Knowledge Centre for Integration’ showed that unemployed non-western immigrants, over-represented in the welfare statistics, are under-represented on government-funded work programmes.

A new study by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs ESPAD) showed Danish youths, who already hold the European record in drinking, consumed even more alcohol last year – Niels Sandø, head of department at the Danish Health Authority’s alcohol prevention unit, called it a ‘sad reflection’ of the Danish drinking culture.

Business:

Goods exports increased by 2.2% in June, while imports rose by 3.1% – despite the encouraging figures, foreign trade slumped by 6.9% during the year’s second quarter (Q2).

Only 565,910 passengers travelled through Copenhagen Airport in July, 81.8 per cent fewer than in the same month last year.

Brewing giant Carlsberg expects operating profit to decline 10%-15% this year as lockdowns impact sales in its key markets of China and Western Europe.

Industrial giant Danfoss’ sales dropped by 10 percent year-on-year in the first half (H1) of 2020 but the company gained strength in China with record sales in the second quarter (Q2).

Orsted, the world’s largest operator of offshore wind farms, reported an 18% drop in second-quarter earnings, largely due to lower electricity demand across Europe amid coronavirus lockdown measures.

Danish-Japanese wind-turbine manufacturer, MHI Vestas, announced 148 more job cuts in this country – in January the company cut 25 workers from its nacelle factory in Lindø and 21 from its blade factory in Nakskov.

Partially state-owned Danish e-sports media company BLAST was hit with a social media storm for securing a partnership deal with Saudi Arabia’s planned $500bn ‘city of the future’, Neom.

And That Was the Week That Was, August 9th– 16th 2020: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).