The Week That Was, August 15th – 21st 2016

Politics/Economy

Berlingske characterised upcoming cross-party political negotiations as the ‘most complex’ in modern times which could, according to the paper, lead to the demise of the government. Opposition leader Mette Frederiksen warned there’d be no last-minute rescue from her if the Liberal Alliance (LA) makes good on its threat to topple the government.

Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen was accused of reneging on a campaign promise by refusing to challenge international human rights and refugee conventions, as demanded by the Danish People’s Party.

Foreign Affairs/EU

Top ranking North Korean diplomat Thae Yong Ho, who defected with his family to South Korea, Wednesday, was previously the repressive country’s ambassador to Denmark in 1997-98 where he, allegedly, sold duty-free cigarettes and alcohol to earn money.

Danish Military Intelligence (FE) advertised for new spies interested in ‘missiles, nuclear weapons, and fluent in Russian’ – a sign, according to experts, that Danish espionage is expanding its capacity in response to Russia’s aggressive behaviour.

Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said the government will continue to support Turkey’s EU accession, contradicting the ruling Liberals’ foreign affairs spokesman Michael Aastrup Jensen who said President Ergodan’s threat to reintroduce the death penalty should bring negotiations with Brussels to a halt. Mr Jensen also warned that Great Britain shouldn’t expect any favours from Denmark in upcoming exit negotiations with the EU – he said although Britain has always been a traditional ally the government’s main objective is to make the best possible deal for Denmark. Mr Jensen arrived in Argentina, Wednesday, hoping to give Danish exports a boost in the region’s third largest economy.

The government put forward a motion to help rid Libya of its last remaining chemical weapons stocks by shipping them out of the country – if passed, Denmark will dispatch two ships and around 200 staff as part of an international response to a Libyan request to help them dispose of the arms stock.

Denmark received a warning from the EU over poor air quality – if the government fails to act the EU Commission may take the matter to the EU’s Court of Justice by claiming a breach of the EU Treaty.

Danish People’s Party (DPP) MEP Morten Messerschmidt was accused of identity theft by two of his former colleagues at the European Parliament, who claimed he falsely listed them as members of the board at anti-EU movement MELD (Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy) without their knowledge.

Denmark and Greenland staked three separate claims to the UN in New York relating to the continental shelf off the coast of Greenland, a vast area north of Greenland, also contested by Russia, Norway, Iceland, and Canada.

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Social Affairs

The Danish People’s Party (DPP) called for a ‘no nonsense’ approach to sending back refugees to their native country – party whip Peter Skaarup said the primary aim is to prevent the thousands of refugees who’ve arrived here over the past year from putting down roots. The party also repeated its call for a ban on Muslim headwear such as the niqab and burqa.

Speaker of the House Pia Kjærsgaard warned Denmark is at risk of becoming a divided nation – she said globalisation and multi-culturalism have split Denmark into an elitist big city culture and the rest of the country.

In a new YouGov survey ahead of reconvened tripartite labour market negotiations between unions, employers, and the government, six out of ten voters said the government is too tough on the unemployed.

A political majority called for the reintroduction of spot checks on returning passengers at Copenhagen Airport after it was revealed that inspectors from the Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment nabbed 608 benefit cheats last year, who had taken a holiday while claiming social benefits in this country – new figures also revealed that 559 people were charged with welfare fraud last year, the highest number ever and a 350% increase since 2009.

The government’s move to outlaw Islamic hate preachers could be in violation of the Danish Constitution’s article 70 – the state can’t use religion as an argument to discriminate.

Well-known salafist Adnan Avdic, who has repeatedly called for Sharia law to be introduced in Denmark, was charged with promoting terrorism and inciting hate against homosexuals – in 2014 he said homosexuals should be killed by throwing them off high buildings, ‘just as the Islamic State has done on numerous occasions.’

Migration to Denmark has fallen for the first time in five years – in the 12-month period preceding June, 76,304 immigrants arrived here with the aim of starting a ‘new life’, a drop of 1,113 on the 2014-15 period and the lowest annual figure since 2011.

Since Denmark become the first European country to allow legal change of gender in 2014, 564 people have applied to have their sex designation amended and 415 have been granted permission.

Deep-sea divers discovered the wreck of a German World War 1 submarine off the west coast of Denmark.

Business

Denmark’s biggest company, A.P. Moeller-Maersk (APM), could soon be split into two independent units – transport and energy – sources close to Berlingske said after the shipping and oil giant reported an 88 percent drop in second-quarter profit. Maersk also announced plans to sell off 20 ships and slash 400 jobs at Maersk Supply Service, the company’s support unit for the oil and gas industry around the world.

Partially state-owned Dong Energy was given the go-ahead by the British government to build the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, a DKK 54bn ($7.8 billion) project in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast in northwest England.

45-year-old British financier Sanjay Shar, suspected of defrauding the Danish Tax Authority (SKAT) out of DKK9b ($1.4bn), said he’s prepared to come to Denmark to defend himself.

The normally thriving town of Thisted is suffering as companies continue to move production overseas – hearing aid manufacturer Oticon has announced plans to relocate 210 local jobs to Poland.

Shares in wind energy giant Vestas rose dramatically after the company raised its annual revenue forecast and posted strong quarterly results, Thursday.

Carlsberg’s beer sales fell globally in the first half of the year due to a drop in demand and currency fluctuations – the brewing giant has been struggling with falling sales in Russia, its biggest market, as well as with sluggish growth in Asia.

A new government-commissioned report suggested consumers could get cheaper heating and water if state-run utilities were privatized.

And that was The Week That Was, August 15th – 21st 2016 – To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)