The Week That Was, September 16th – 22nd 2019:

Politics/Economy:

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she’s determined to push through a comprehensive climate bill before Christmas – in a speech to business leaders the PM again stressed the need to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% ahead of 2030 and said she was glad to see the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) has backed the government’s plans.  Experts dismissed DI’s plan to finance its ambitious green agenda by adding 85,000 people to the labour market ahead of 2030 as ‘unrealistic’.

The Conservatives said they are ready to support the government’s climate bill but not unconditionally – party leader Søren Pape Poulsen told financial daily Børsen he will be demanding assurances the wide-ranging legislation required for green conversion doesn’t affect economic growth and jobs. The government will increase investment on green technology research by 100% next year, to DKK1bn.

A report by Oil Change International found that the government’s plan to grant four foreign companies new licences to expand North Sea oil and fossil gas extraction would seriously undermine the government’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% ahead of 2030.

Former Liberal leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen dismissed rumours he’s planning to start a new party – the ex-prime minister has started a new investment company alongside his wife, Sólrun, and the couple are also involved in the Faeroese travel agency Make Travel, which organises trips to the Faroe Islands

Experts said former justice minister Søren Pind could have breached professional secrecy in his autobiography published this week by quoting directly from discussions between Danish Intelligence (PET) and the American FBI concerning Syrian foreign fighters.

The Social Democrats’ former business minister Henrik Sass Larsen, once seen as having ’prime minister potential’, quit politics to become managing director of DVCA, a trade association for venture and capital funds that he’s previously criticised.

The National Bank lowered its growth forecast for 2020 following the slowdown of the global economy – in its latest report the bank slashed its economic growth forecast for next year to 1.5 percent from 1.7 percent predicted in March but raised its growth outlook for this year from 1.7 percent to 1.8 percent.

Foreign Affairs/EU:

The government set up a cabinet-level emergency group to deal with a potential ‘turbulent period’ following Great Britain’s scheduled withdrawal from the EU on October 31st – Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Denmark is preparing for a no-deal that could cost as much as 1.3% in lost growth.

Denmark formally joined the European Intervention Initiative (EI2) a common defence strategy set out by President Macron – Defence Minister Trine Bramsen said joining the EI2 would strengthen Denmark’s cooperation with like-minded countries that ‘share the same aims regarding defence and military’.

Former deputy prime minister Margrethe Vestager, appointed as the EU Commission’s executive vice president for digital last week, picked Kim Jørgensen, currently the Danish ambassador to the EU and one of Denmark’s top diplomats, to head her cabinet.

The controversial Russian-led gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 pipeline is fast approaching Danish territorial waters through the Baltic Sea but Denmark has yet to approve the project.

Bank documents revealed that Middelfart-based Bunker Holding has received multi-million payments from the Russian Maritime company, which supplies Russian fighter jets operating in Syria with fuel.

The government signed an agreement with Greenland that will allow the Danish Air Force to use Kangerlussuaq Airport after 2023 when the construction of two new airports in the Arctic country is completed.

Two major Arab financial institutions that handle billions of dollars in oil income were mistakenly given a ‘free pass’ by the Danish tax authorities that enabled then to claim a share dividend refund without being subjected to any controls.

Germany will supply Danish households with gas for the next three years after Denmark’s biggest oil and gas field, Tyra, was closed down in preparation for three years of massive renovation.

Social Affairs:

The government dropped plans to house failed asylum seeker or criminal immigrants at a specially-built deportation camp on the deserted island of Lindholm.

The government’s long-awaited anti-smoking action plan was dismissed as ‘toothless’ by health insiders who said the proposal to raise the price of a packet of cigarettes by no more than 10 kroner over the next two years will have no effect.

A new study by the Economic Council of the Labour Movement showed young adults from ethnic minorities have become better at overcoming the negative cycle of social inheritance than native Danes.

The National Serum Institute warned of a whooping cough epidemic after 1,323 cases of the illness were recorded during the first eight months of the year, a 300% increase.

A man accused of supplying drones to the Islamic State told Copenhagen District Court he was a close friend of Basil Hassan, who attempted to assassinate Danish author and critic of Islam Lars Hedegaard in 2013.

A 23-year-old Swedish national detained at Copenhagen Airport after a trip to Lebanon was charged with bombing the Danish Tax Agency last month.

The Danish public, organisations, and companies donated enough money to plant 914.233 trees to help tackle the climate crisis in a TV2 fundraiser

Business:

National Bank governor Lars Rohde refused to rule out the possibility of negative interest rates sinking even more despite  a sharp decline in Danish banks’ profit margins.

Tax Minister Morten Bødskov warned there will be greater oversight of the banking sector in the future after the tax authorities demanded DKK900m from Nordea as part of the share dividend scandal – at the same time, Denmark received millions of documents from Dubai regarding alleged tax fraud Sanjay Shah who it’s believed played a ‘significant role’ in the DKK12.7bn scandal.

Partially state-owned energy giant Orsted (formerly DONG) sold its power distribution company in Copenhagen, Radius, to energy firm SEAS-NVE for a reported DKK 21.3bn($3.15bn) even though a left-wing majority blocked a similar deal in January.

Pharmaceutical giant Lundbeck agreed to buy American Alder Bio Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at almost $2 billion.

PFA, the largest customer-owned pension company in Denmark, sold stakes in seven companies falling short of its climate requirements, and put another seven under increased scrutiny.

It was reported that highly placed employees at Carlsberg’s Indian subsidiary have systematically bribed local officials to get permission to brew and sell beer.

New figures showed the strong winds that blew across the country last week sent wind turbines into overdrive, producing 130% of normal capacity – or 30% more than needed.

Food giant Danish Crown introduced a new logo to highlight its move towards a more sustainable future.

Producer prices fell 3.1 percent year-on-year in August, following a 2.2 percent decline in July.

And That Was the Week That Was, September 16th – 22nd 2019: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).