The Week That Was, February 5th – February 11th 2018     

Politics/Economy:

After months of negotiations the government and Danish People’s Party (DPP) finally reached a deal that will provide DKK 5bn ($830 million) of tax cuts, but a fraction of the DKK 23bn initially promised by Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen – calculations by the right-leaning think-tank CEPOS showed it’s high earners who’ll benefit the most.

Opposition Mette Frederiksen leader characterised  non-western immigration as the biggest challenge facing Denmark, after presenting a long list of proposals, Monday, including a plan to turn away spontaneously arriving asylum seekers at the Danish border and send them to a Danish-run reception centre in North Africa or a safe third country. Integration Minister Inger Støjberg said the government is already well-advanced with plans to send refugees seeking asylum to EU-funded asylum processing centres but Tunisia and Morocco quickly dismissed the possibility. Elisabeth Haslund, spokesperson for UNHCR Denmark, said just as the UN can’t force Denmark to accept an extra 1,000 refugees, it can’t force an African country to accept refugees who’ve sought asylum in Denmark, while the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) dismissed the Social Democrats’ proposal as ‘unrealistic’ and a violation of international conventions.

The government announced it will introduce a ‘Ban the Burka’ bill before parliament later this year – the Danish People’s Party’s (DPP) Søren Espersen lashed out at Liberal Alliance leader Anders Samuelsen for allowing his MPs to vote how they want on the upcoming bill.

The government, Danish People’s Party, and Social Democrats reached agreement on strict new rules for family reunification, including a ban on anyone who lives in a ghetto from claiming residency for their husband or wife – TV2’s political analyst Anders Langballe said it shows how the biggest parties are now prepared to accept there’s a significant disparity in the ‘quality’ of immigrants.

Liberal Party MP Jakob Engel-Schmidt lost his job and was kicked out of his local constituency after being found guilty of driving under the influence of cocaine.

Alternative leader Uffe Elbæk characterised Thursday the 8th of February 2018 as a ‘great day for democracy’ after the first-ever citizens’ bill collected the 50,000 signatures needed to be placed before parliament.

EU/Foreign Affairs:

Human rights and the Ukraine conflict topped the agenda in talks between Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen and his Russian counterpart, Sergej Lavrov, in Moscow – Mr Lavrov stated very firmly that Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, scheduled to pass through Danish territorial waters east of Bornholm, lives up to all the required legislation.

According to a report by the Polish Labour Inspectorate (PIP), North Korean forced labourers helped to build a Danish ship, Esvagt Nord, launched by an Esbjerg shipyard 2016.

Denmark contributed an additional DKK135m ($21.4m) to UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilisation (FFS) in Iraq, which finances fast-track initiatives to stabilize areas liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS).

The Chinese authorities approved the import of heat-treated meat from Denmark, which could open up a whole new market for Danish exporters of sausages, salami and canned meats

Denmark’s balance of payments surplus declined in December as imports grew faster than exports.

Social Affairs:

A new study by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Interior showed a significant majority of parents who live in social housing areas designated as ghettos are unemployed – 60% of fathers and 75% of mothers, mostly non-western immigrants, live off social benefits.

The father of a gang-leader facing deportation told the High Court, Wednesday, his son has no family and no place to live if he was sent to Pakistan.

A charity shop worker found more than 8,000 euros in the pocket of a coat that was about to be to put on sale.

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Business:

Cut-price Irish airline Ryanair said it could be ready to accept Danish trade union wage demands so it can move ahead with plans to use Copenhagen Airport as a hub.

Industrial production increased for the third straight month in December, though at a weaker pace than in the previous two months.

Carlsberg saw its profits and sales fall last year, partly because of weakness in its key Russian market where a law limited the maximum size of plastic bottles.

TDC, Denmark’s largest telecommunications company, turned down a takeover bid from Australia’s Macquarie and three Danish pension funds ATP, PFA and PKA.

British researchers found that used Lego building bricks from the 70s and 80s contain toxic chemical and would fail to meet modern safety standards.

Ten years of record-low interest rates are coming to an end, signaling higher mortgages and an end to the property boom – finance expert, Professor Jesper Rangvid of Copenhagen Business School (CBS), said borrowers will need to adapt to interest rates somewhat higher than the ‘absurdities’ of the past decade.

Denmark’s biggest bank, Danske delivered its best full-year result with a net profit of DKK 20.9bn.

And That Was The Week That Was, February 5th – February 11th 2018: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)