The Week That Was, July 7th – July 14th 2019:

Politics/Economy:

Parties on the left urged the government to drop plans to change the name of the controversial integration benefit’ to ‘repatriation benefit’ – the Social Liberals’ (Radikale) acting policy spokesman, Kristian Hegaar, said  the government needs to focus on integration instead of symbolic name changes.

Parliament’s legal office approved Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s decision to give her closest political advisor a seat on two powerful committees normally reserved for cabinet ministers.

Real GDP grew by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter and by 1.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, mainly driven by investment and private consumption. Employment growth remained robust at a year-on-year rate of 1.5%, down slightly from the 1.8% achieved in 2018.

Exports and imports increased in May, year on year, but at a slower rate than April.

Inflation grew 0.6 percent year-on-year in June, which was slower than the 0.7 percent increase in May.

Foreign Affairs/EU:

Following talks in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark will continue to fight for border control even though the two countries disagree – both leaders took the unusual step of sitting down during the German and Danish national anthems at a welcoming ceremony as a result of the Chancellor’s recent bout of shaking.

The European Court ruled against Denmark on a family reunification issue – the court found that Denmark violated EU rules by invoking the ‘affiliation’ requirement when denying a Turkish-Danish couple residency in 2010.

Denmark’s Margrethe Vestager was snubbed by Ursula von der Leyen, the German candidate for European Commission president, who said she would pick Holland’s Frans Timmermans as first vice president, if appointed.

Zindzi Mandela’s term as ambassador to Denmark has been extended until the end of the year.

The government is ready to join the group of ten countries pushing for an EU financial transaction tax (FTT).

The number of Georgian nationals being arrested for break-ins and shoplifting has fallen dramatically since the previous government recognised Georgia as a ‘safe country’.

GDP growth in the eurozone is expected to fall slightly next year but Denmark will remain relatively unscathed.

According to the EU Commission’s 2019 Summer Economic Forecast, GDP growth will fall slightly next year but Denmark will remain relatively unscathed.

The European Court of Human Rights fined Denmark €2,000 for denying a convicted sexual offender the right to an independent medical and psychiatric examination.

Social Affairs:

Former integration minister Inger Støjberg said the new government seems determined to ease up on its predecessor’s strict immigration and integration policy after Housing Minister Kaare Dybvad slapped a ban on using the term ‘ghetto’ to describe under-privileged areas.

The Danish People’s Party (DPP) questioned why only 37 Muslim women have been charged with violating the Burka Ban since the law was implemented last year – party whip Peter Skaarup said the police don’t appear to be taking the ban seriously.

The ruling Social Democrats and their parliamentary backers agreed to re-introduce an official definition of poverty as part of a wider effort to stop the rise in the number of poor children.

Two Somali nationals were jailed for three years and three months after admitting to defrauding the state out of millions in public funding earmarked for socially vulnerable Somali refugees and their descendants.

Three men were formally charged under Denmark’s anti-terror laws of supplying drones to the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq.

Police seized three Ferraris with an estimated value of DKK2m ($300,000) from a company based west of Copenhagen as part of a crackdown on tax and VAT evasion

The final verdict in the backpacker murder trial in Morocco was postponed until July 18th after the judge ruled the defendants charged with slaying Danish backpacker Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland should be given a final chance to defend themselves.

Business:

Denmark’s merchant shipping fleet is now the 5th biggest in the world – Greece leads the way, followed by Singapore, China, and Japan.

Vestas has agreed to build a new assembly plant in India that will serve a growing regional market.

Japanese investors are buying up Danish government bonds at a fast rate.

Two of Denmark’s largest labour-market pension funds, PenSam and PKA, are investing DKK750m (€100m) in a Texas wind farm project.

A.P. Moller Holding, which controls Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, will acquire Danish wind turbine supplier KK Group in a first step into the renewable energy industry.

Dansk Bank downwardly revised its earnings projection for this year by a billion kroner after reporting a sharp fall in profits due to the high costs of the money laundering scandal.

French oil and gas multinational Total was fined DKK500,000 because Maersk Oil dumped tons of dangerous chemicals in the North Sea in 2017.

The biggest distributor of medicinal cannabis in Denmark stopped all sales after its Canadian supplier was found growing illegal pot at its Ontario greenhouse.

And That Was The Week That Was, July 7th – July 14th 2019. To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).