The Week That Was, February 4th – 10th 2019
Politics/Economy:
An independent report into Denmark’s participation in foreign wars between 1993-2004 revealed that ahead of the government’s decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, prime minister at the time Anders Fogh Rasmussen was warned of the potential ‘catastrophic consequences’ but the information was never passed on to parliament – it was also claimed that his predecessor, the Social Democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, despatched Danish fighter jets to bomb targets in Yugoslavia in 1999 without a UN mandate. Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen welcomed the report and said Denmark needs to keep supporting military efforts in global hot spots.
Voters see Mette Frederiksen as the country’s ’most competent’ party leader – the latest Norstat poll for Jyllands-Posten showed the Social Democrat leader has overtaken Danish People’s Party leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl who dropped to number 2. Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen shared 5th spot with Socialist People’s Party leader Pia Olsen Dyhr.
Experts said lawyer firm Bech-Bruun exceeded its mandate by advising a German Bank caught up in the DKK12.7bn share dividend scandal while at the same investigating the same tax scam for the government.
The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), seen as an important indicator of economic health, fell to 51.1 points in January from a revised 57.5 points in December.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
US Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands urged Europeans to ‘strongly reconsider’ Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will transport gas from Russia to Germany through Danish territorial waters.Denmark joined the growing number of EU countries to recognise Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaido, as the country’s interim president.
Denmark is the only Nordic nation to threaten UN quota refugees with expulsion.
Government ministers condemned Russia after a regional court sentenced 46-year-old Dennis Christensen, a Danish Jehovah’s Witness, to six years in prison.
46-year-old Dennis Christensen was arrested in May 2017 after a police raid on his congregation just south of
The Danish People’s Party (DPP) warned it will block any move by the government to allow Danish foreign fighters taken prisoner while fighting for the Islamic State in Syria to return to Denmark, after the U.S. warned that ‘hundreds’ of ISIS foreign fighters captured by U.S.-backed Syrian forces could be sent back to their home countries for prosecution.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, renowned for her well-publicised crackdown on tax avoidance schemes by big U.S. companies such as Google, Apple, and Facebook, came under fire for holding a disproportionately large number of meeting with Danish corporate lobbyists.
Former Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen revealed he had one been invited to ex-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s notorious bunga-bunga parties.
Denmark opened a visa application centre in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
The proposed 89 km Fehmarn Belt link, connecting Germany to Denmark was given the final seal of approval by the German government.
Social Affairs:
Labour Minister Troels Lund Poulsen denounced local authorities who allow benefits recipients to go for months without looking for work at a time when companies need manpower.
Denmark contributed more than €200,000 to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) to support victim survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Two Huawei employees were expelled following an immigration spot check at the company’s Copenhagen office.
A 36-year-old woman was sentenced to four years in jail for draining blood from her young son.
To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)
Business:
Danske Bank was placed under formal investigation (“mise en examen”) in France over suspected money laundering at its Estonian branch – despite the scandal Denmark’s biggest pension fund, ATP, increased its stake in Danske Bank. The European Parliament’s Special Committee on Tax Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance visited Denmark to discuss ways to crack down harder on fraud following the scandal.
BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, has cut its holding in Danske Bank, following the money laundering scandal which has so far cost Danske Bank 11,000 private customers and DKK 6 billion in profits, it’s year-end 2018 report showed.
Brewing giant Carslberg enjoyed a 3% increase in sales last year, boosted by the tropical summer in Europe, the World Cup, and surging sales in Asia.
Wind energy giant Vestas’ revenue rose slightly in 2018, to €10.1bn, from just under €10bn in 2017. However, net profit shrank by 24%, from €894 million in 2017 to €683m.
Multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, Denmark’s biggest company by market capitalisation and the world’s biggest maker of diabetes drugs, said it’s ready to do business with Iran despite U.S. sanctions.
Partially state-owned energy company Ørsted (formerly DONG) announced record DKK30bn ($461m) profits for 2018.
The National Bank was again forced to buy up the krone in January to maintain its exchange rate with the euro.
And That Was The Week That Was, February 4th – 10th 2019: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).