The Week That Was, January 22nd – January 27th 2018      

Politics/Economy:

Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen agreed to attend a parliamentary consultation this week regarding his relationship to the so-called ‘quota kings’, who control large proportions of fishing licensing quotas issued by the state.

The government is heading for defeat on its proposal to ’ban the burka’ – leading political commentator Hans Engell said Justice Minister Søren Pape can’t put together a majority for such a wide ranging-ban.

Opposition leader Mette Frederiksen called on the EU to support a Denmark-led aid programme to Africa, inspired by the USA’s Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II.

Thousands of disgruntled Liberal Alliance (LA) voters have moved rightwards to the anti-immigrant New Conservatives – a new survey showed the anti-immigrant party has gained around 16,500 voters from LA since the 2015 election and the exodus is continuing following the recent collapse in tax reform negotiations.

According to a new projection by the Nordic region’s biggest bank, Nordea, the economic upswing will slow this year as the lack of manpower impacts on growth, yet unemployment will continue to fall and real wages will rise.

Parties on the right claimed the controversial jewellery law, imposed two years ago, has been a success even though no more than DKK 173,900 has so far been confiscated, but opponents on the left said it has cost Denmark more than it’s worth.

A new Finance Ministry report showed 6,000 highly-skilled foreign professionals contribute a billion kroner a year to state coffers – the figures will form the basis for the government’s argument not to increase the salary requirement for skilled migrants applying for a visa under the skilled migrant, as demanded by the Danish People’s Party (DPP).

The government launched borgerforslag.dk (The Citizens’ Initiative Act), which requires Parliament to process any bill that collects 50,000 signatures from citizens of voting age, whether it be legalised cannabis or a ban on smoking.

Consumer confidence, normally a reliable indicator of the economic climate, increased to the highest level in six months in January.

EU/Foreign Affairs:

In a speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Prime Minister Lars Løkke Ramussen said the convention system is ‘out of sync’ with countries’ needs and the European Court’s interpretation of human rights needs to be reformed – Denmark’s ambassador to the Council of Europe said economic sanctions against Russia are overshadowing Denmark’s chairmanship the Council of Europe and the government’s five main priorities.

The PM declined to comment on Carles Puigdemont’s visit to the Danish parliament, Tuesday, when the Catalonian separatist leader held talks with opposition MPs – the Spanish authorities failed to carry through with their threat to demand Mr Puigdemont’s arrest when he arrived in Denmark.

Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen will for the first time hold talks in an official capacity with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, during a trip to Washington DC this week.

President Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on imports of washing machines and solar energy cells was denounced by trade and business analysts in this country as the biggest setback to free trade since World War 2 – Peter Thagesen, a senior advisor at the Confederation of Danish Industries(DI), said any form of protectionism is potentially damaging to the Danish economy.

Finance Minister Kristian Jensen said Donald Trump’s decision to address the World Economic Forum in Davos was a ‘positive sign’ and reflects the U.S. President’s ‘growing international awareness’.

A parliamentary majority called for the closure of the UN’s UNRWA agency that provides aid for 5 million impoverished Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East.

A Danish military surveillance aircraft, part of the EU’s Frontex task force, has helped to rescue hundreds of African migrants on three capsized ships from drowning in the Mediterranean in January but the mission was criticised by the Danish People’s Party (DPP) as the rescued migrants can’t be returned to Africa.

The state’s controversial sell-off of the National Serum Institute to the Saudi Aljomaih Group was strongly criticised by the National Audit Office, which claimed in a new report the deal has cost Danish taxpayers DKK1.3bn ($200m).

Denmark was ranked no.7, up from 8th last year, on the latest Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI)

Social Affairs:

The Danish People’s Party (DPP) called for all degree courses to include at least one Danish-language module – the party’s education spokesman, Jens Henrik Thulesen Dahl, said the aim is to prevent young EU students from coming to Denmark for free education, free student grants, and a study loan and then leaving the country as soon as they’ve graduated.

Two men arrested at Copenhagen Airport two years ago on suspicion of terrorism were awarded DKK 114,200 and DKK 97,800 respectively in compensation for unlawful arrest.

New police figures showed an increasing number of illegal immigrants in Denmark – 1,618 people were charged with unlawful residency in 2016, a 300% rise on the previous year.

Members of parliament’s health committee came under fire for meeting representatives of U.S. tobacco giant Philip Morris in Copenhagen, Tuesday – head of The Danish Cancer Society Leif Vestergaard Pedersen said health policy and smoking should be kept far apart.

Peter Madsen, the ‘Submarine Slayer’, tied up and physically abused Swedish journalist Kim Wall before murdering her on board his home-built submarine, according to an indictment published on Tuesday – prosecutors claim Madsen planned the murder by bringing a saw, screwdrivers, strips and pipes, which were used to hit, cut and stab Wall while she was alive, the prosecutors said.

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Business:

Copenhagen District Court will rule on March 23rd as to whether American aviation giant Boeing should be granted access to documents used in the government’s decision last year to buy Lockheed’s new F-35 Lightning II combat jets in preference to Boeing’s F/A 18 Super Hornets.

The French authorities dropped all charges against Denmark’s biggest bank, Danske, in the Estonian money-laundering scandal.

It’s estimated that the weak U.S. dollar has cost Denmark’s top-25 ‘blue-chip’ companies around DKK12bn in earnings – the dollar took a further dip, Thursday, to under 6 kroner, which makes exports to the USA even more expensive.

Retail sales surprisingly fell in December, normally the year’s strongest month, to a seasonally and price-adjusted 0.3 percent, in contrast to a 1.3 percent increase in November.

And That Was The Week That Was, January 22nd – January 27th 2018: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)