Politics/Economy:

Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s character and personal judgement again came under scrutiny after it was revealed he spent his summer holiday in 2016 at a summer cottage in Skagen, paid for by a businessman heavily implicated in last year’s fishing quotas scandal.

The government published a ‘Better Balance 2’, the second phase of its plan to relocate thousands of public sector jobs out of Copenhagen to the provinces . The country’s four university cities will be the main beneficiaries of the latest move, receiving 1,191 jobs – Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen vowed to continue the relocation policy despite the massive costs and widespread criticism.

The PM called for a change in immigration policy to make it easier for skilled foreigners ‘who share our culture and values’ to come to Denmark, even though the government is moving ahead with plans to tighten the rules for refugees and asylum seekers

The Social Democrats and Social Liberals launched their own set of far reaching initiatives to counter the growth of the parallel society in this country, including a ban on newly-arrived immigrants from moving to another district within their first five years in Denmark, more control of refugee families, and the demolition of troubled social housing areas.

The Social Democrats distanced themselves from their own immigration policy during the Helle Thorning-Schmidt period, 2001-2005 – integration spokesman, Mattias Tesfaye, said there were ‘quite a few’ decisions made while Ms Thorning-Schmidt was prime minister that were wrong.

The Liberal Alliance is losing grass-roots members at a fast rate following the party’s role in the tax reform fiasco – a new Gallup poll reflected the lowest level of support for LA since the 2015 election.

EU/Foreign Affairs

During a visit to Latvia, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Russia’s behaviour has created an ‘unpredictable and unstable’ security environment in the Baltic Sea region, just as a new poll showed public concern about Russia’s behavior has fallen – only 33% of the electorate believe Russia poses a threat to Denmark’s prosperity and security, compared to 48% in a similar poll in 2016.

Former Social Liberal leader Margrethe Vestager expressed hope for a second term as European commissioner for competition but it could be unlikely – the ruling Liberals said it’s normal for the sitting government to put forward its own candidate.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior energy advisor, Vincent DeVito, was in Denmark last week currently to gain first-hand information about offshore windfarms – Mr DeVito visited wind energy giant Vestas, the world’s biggest turbine maker and Ørsted (formerly DONG) the world’s biggest operator of offshore wind parks, to discuss potential investment in green energy.

Right-wing lawmakers suggested international EU students should only have the right to an education loan (SU) in this country if Denmark has a repayment agreement with the borrower’s own country, following reports that 10,200 foreign nationals who’ve studied in this country have an outstanding debt of DKK782m (€104m).

A parliamentary majority acceded to a U.S. request for more military assistance in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq – an additional 30 additional troops will be dispatched to the al-Asad base in Iraq where 150 Danish soldiers are currently advising and training Iraqi security forces.

The government gave DKK1m to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support the Agency’s monitoring of North Korea’s nuclear activities.

The Danish Federation of Industry (DI) welcomed the Chinese economy’s recent surge in growth as a ‘boon’ for Danish businesses.

Social Affairs:

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) warned in a new report that the terrorist threat to Denmark remains ‘significant’, primarily from militant Islamism.

Members of Parliament’s Immigration and Integration Committee declined to meet Muslim women wearing face-covering veils faces to discuss a proposal to ban the burka and niqab.

It was revealed that The Danish People’s Party (DPP) has voted for an increase in state subsidies to the same Muslim free schools it’s trying to ban.

1,004 teenagers and young people were charged by the police with violating the law regarding the distribution of child porn after sharing video clips of two 15-year-olds having sex.

The government announced plans to clamp down on the illegal sale of cigarettes to minors after it was revealed that the police only issued two fines to retailers in all of Denmark last year.

To read all the above articles in full see:  http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)

Business:

A.P. Moeller-Maersk and American multinational technology company IBM formed a joint venture that will use new technologies to track cargo movements and automate paperwork for shipping across international borders.

The High Court upheld a lower court’s ruling against four former Uber drivers who were fined a collective DKK 700,000 ($103,000) last August for illegal taxi driving.

Denmark’s producer price inflation (PPI), which measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by producers for their output, eased for the third straight month in December.

Denmark continues to sustain the world negative interest rate record – interest rates are now so low that Danish households can lock in to mortgage rates of 1.5 percent for 30 years.

More than 29 million people passed through Copenhagen Airport last year, nearly 80,000 every single day and a new record.

And That Was The Week That Was, January 15^th – January 21^st 2018: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)