The Week That Was, March 11th – 17th 2023:

Posted on 17. Mar, 2024 in: TWTW

Politics/Economy:

The government presented a plan to increase defence spending by more than DKK 40bn ($6 b) over the next four years - in a more surprising move, the Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said there would be compulsory military conscription for women from 2026 to help counter the increased threat from Russia – she later said young army conscripts could be despatched abroad as part of the heavy infantry brigade the government is planning to build up as a defence against Russia.

The planned renovation of a former ammunition factory in Elling could be far more costly than originally estimated - according to a new report by the Ministry’s Estate Agency it could cost up to 200m ($28m) to get the production line up and running again.

Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said further delays in the delivery of Denmark’s new fleet of F-35 fighter jets could force the Defence Ministry to purchase or borrow other countries’ planes.

Three military experts said NATO would be incapable of shooting down every missile fired at Denmark by Russia if President Putin launched an attack, after Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen claimed in a TV interview that ‘Denmark is fully protected by the NATO umbrella.’

800 people gathered in Viborg Cathedral, including the PM, cabinet members, and friends and family, to pay their last respects to deceased Conservative leader Søren Pape Poulsen – his successor, Mona Juul, said later in the week that removing the punitive top rate of income tax, one of Mr Pape Poulsen’s key issues, would be a major theme at the next election campaign.

EU/Foreign Affairs:

Parliament green-lighted Denmark’s 16th military aid package to Ukraine, worth DKK 2.3bn ($336.6m) - the money will help fund the purchase of Caesar artillery shells in cooperation with France and 155-mm artillery shells in cooperation with Estonia and Czechia.

The government released the DKK105m in humanitarian aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) that’s been withheld since January after Israel accused some of the agency’s employees of involvement in the October 7 Hamas-led attack - Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen publicly condemned the Israeli government’s plan to construct 3,500 new settlement units in the West Bank.  Four humanitarian organisations are suing the Danish state to end arms exports to Israel.

Ukraine’s new ambassador to Denmark, Andrii Yanevskyi, warned he will be putting pressure on the Faroe Islands to discontinue their fishing agreement with Russia.

The Danish frigate deployed in the Red Sea shot down four drones during a massive attack by Yemeni Houthis.

Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Denmark needs to adjust its commitment to Africa before China becomes too influential.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Faroe Islands Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen, Thursday, setting out a framework for an improved partnership focusing on areas such as green transition, energy, climate change, digitalisation and the Arctic  - Ms von der Leyen and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen travelled to Greenland the next day to open a European Commission office in the capital of Nuuk. Ms von der Leyen showered praise on Mette Frederiksen but declined to confirm or deny whether the Danish prime minister is in the running for a top EU job, as rumoured.

Greenland supported a UN proposal for a precautionary pause, or ‘moratorium’, on deep-sea mining for rare earths and minerals event two days after  Norway’s parliament approved commercial plans to open the Arctic Ocean to seabed mineral exploration.

A prominent international relations expert claimed that Donald Trump could renew his bid to buy Greenland if elected U.S. president again in November.

Social Affairs:

A radio-show host revealed that as a former head of the militant group ‘Call to Islam’ he was part of a plan to attack the Queen’s Lifeguard’s barracks close to Rosenborg Castle in central Copenhagen, shoot security guards and then kill as many conscripts as possible.

A leading professor in epidemiology and demographics warned that Denmark’s population could shrink by millions over the next three generations if the current low fertility rate continues.

The number of social assistance recipients is at an all-time low. The latest figures showed there were only 91,300 benefits claimants at the start of the year, half as many as 2015 and the lowest since data was first registered in 2007.

Pusher Street in Christiania is to be demolished - residents of the ‘Free State’ and hired labourers will dig up the notorious street on April 6 to rid the communitu of the open drug trade.

‘Red Square’ in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, has been decorated with an 18-metre-long electric sign to commemorate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that started, Sunday.

Imam Oussama El-Saadi, the controversial head of the Salafi Grimhøj mosque in Aarhus, was given a 15 month conditional prison sentence after being guilty of social fraud.

Three men were sentenced to 40 days in prison for burning an effigy of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at an anti-lockdown demonstration in January 2021 with a sign around its neck stating ‘she must, and will, be killed’.

Four people in this country have died from psittacosis, commonly known as parrot fever, since December.

Business:

Despite reports of a housing market upswing the number of apartments for sale in Copenhagen has fallen by 2.5% since New Year.

Toy giant LEGO enjoyed a 2% increase in revenue last year, reaching DKK 65.9bn (€88.4b) but significantly lower than 2022's 17%.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy for use in slashing the risk of serious cardiovascular complications in people with obesity and heart disease, which could lead to even more profit for the booming company.

The long-awaited trial of Sanjay Shah finally got underway at Glostup District Court - the British financier is one of nine British and US nationals accused of defrauding Denmark out of billions of kroner through elaborate tax evasion and avoidance schemes.

And That Was The Week That Was, March 11th – 17th 2024: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).


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