The Week That Was, May 10th – 17th 2020:
Coronavirus/ What happened last week:
Phase 2 of the reopening process got underway, Monday, and the government and all parties also reached agreement on phases 3 and 4 – starting June 8th, cinemas, museums and amusement parks will also open and the limits on how many people can gather in groups will be raised to 30-50, from the current 10. Restaurants and cafes can reopen from Monday the 18th of May but with a 2-metre distancing requirement between customers . More passengers will be allowed to travel on public transport buses but with a 1-metre distancing requirement.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the government is preparing to speed up phase 2 of the reopening process following a new report by the National Serum Institute showing the virus is under control.
The government laid out plans for increased testing of the corona virus and a contact tracing system that should, according to head of the National Serum Institute, Kåre Mølbak, help Denmark avoid a second wave of infection.
Party leaders questioned why the Danish Health Authority (DHA) has suddenly decided to relax social distancing rules from the previous two metres to one.
The government is setting up a new crisis contingency agency from August 1st to ensure there’s sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), testing equipment, and isolation centres available in the event of future epidemics.
Politics/ Economy:
Opposition leader Jakob Ellemann-Jensen called for planned tax cuts of DKK4.5bn to be brought forward to boost consumer spending and kick-start the economy, plus a 50% reduction in VAT for the rest of the year.
The commission set up to investigate former immigration minister Inger Støjberg’s role in the 2016 child brides affair produced a ‘smoking gun’ e-mail on its opening day, Thursday, casting serious doubt on Ms Støjberg’s claim that she was unaware her 2016 directive regarding the separation of refugee couples at asylum reception centres was illegal.
As the retail sector gradually emerges from its two-month lockdown a new survey showed consumers have become increasingly pessimistic – 20% of the public in a new YouGov poll for tabloid daily BT said they intend to ‘tighten their belts’ over the next 12 months and spend less than before the coronavirus shut down the country.
The Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) has for years spent millions of kroner with the family owned laundry A-Wash in Taastrup – however, in addition to washing, ironing and repairing military uniforms the company also issued vastly inflated invoices that were never double checked, which means DALO, which administrates a budget of approximately DKK 9bn ($1.3bn) of the total defence budget, has for years paid out millions for services it never received.
The Danish People’s Party’s (DPP) deputy leader, Søren Espersen, warned that members will be excluded if it’s proved they are behind anonymous attacks on Pernille Vermund, head of the anti-immigrant New Conservatives.
A new opinion poll showed the New Conservatives (or ‘New Right’) are more popular than ever and would win nearly 6% of the vote if an election was held today and double their parliamentary representation, from four seats to 11.
Economists are becoming increasingly concerned about the threat of deflation – a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. Inflation was 0% in April as consumer prices were held in check by the corona crisis.
The National Bank’s foreign currency (FX) reserves rose by DKK79bn to DKK451bn in April due to government foreign currency borrowing.
Foreign Affairs/EU:
Political analysts said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s ‘hawkish’ stance towards telecom giant Huawei is the sign of a ‘paradigm shift’ in Denmark’s China policy after she warned the government is working on a major piece of legislation aimed at limiting foreign influence on Denmark’s critical infrastructure – this followed Berlingske’s revelations that Chinese Huawei has on a number of occasions tried to coerce a Danish prime minister.
China’s ambassador to Denmark escalated the war of words with his US counterpart, Carla Sands – H.E. Feng Tie dismissed claims by Ms Sands that US efforts to boost its influence in Greenland are the ‘best possible solution for both the Arctic country and Denmark’ as ‘absurd, misleading and unjustified.’
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen came under pressure from party leaders to reopen the borders after Germany’s Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Wednesday he was ready to stop checks with Denmark as early as Friday – Ms Frederiksen also said she has no regrets about using Italy as a ‘worst case scenario’ to garner public support in the battle with coronavirus.
Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, summoned the ambassadors of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, to a meeting, Monday, over their countries’ criticism of a controversial law that empowers Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to carry out measures by decree against the novel coronavirus.
Denmark, alongside France, Holland, and the Czech Republic, agreed to send 44 sanitation containers to refugee camps in Greece to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The prime minister Mette Frederiksen and her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, discussed ways to work together in the covid-affected world during a phone call, Thursday.
Danish People’s Party (DPP) founder Pia Kjærsgaard tried to reignite the EU debate by calling for a Brexit-style ‘Danexit.’
Social Affairs:
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen joined the condemnation of a group of around 30 Muslims who violated the ban on gatherings of more than 10 when they were called to prayers at a parking lot in Aarhus, Sunday.
Two Swedish nationals were charged with unlawful possession of explosives and terrorism following last year’s bomb attack on the Danish Tax Agency in Copenhagen.
The Danish FA (Football Association) confirmed that the National Stadium in Copenhagen (Parken) will still be able to host four Euro 2020 games next year despite a clash with the opening stages of the Tour De France
Business:
A TV2 review showed companies based in foreign tax shelters have received more than 261 million kroner ($38m) from the government’s various business aid packages during the corona crisis.
A new business report showed 26,000 companies have been granted a total of DKK7bn ($1.01bn) in wage compensation for around 176,000 employees.
Novo Nordisk, the world’s leading maker of diabetes drugs, beat profit and sales forecasts in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 and kept its full-year outlook as the coronavirus pandemic led to a surge in demand for its medicines.
64-year-old Swede Jacob Wallenberg, head of the Wallenberg Group, the biggest shareholder in SAS, urged the governments of Denmark, Sweden and Norway to do more to save the struggling airline.
The latest figures from Statistics Denmark showed industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent month-on-month in March, after a 2.4 percent rise in February.
And That Was the Week That Was, May 18th – 24th 2020:: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).