The Week That Was, June 12th – June 18th 2017
Politics/Economy:
51.4% of respondents in a new Voxmeter survey said they believe Danish People’s Party (DPP) leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl has far more power than his allies on the right, including Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen – although this parliamentary session has seen the Socialist People’s Party (SPP) voting alongside the Danish People’s Party (DPP) and Social Democrats (S) more than at any other time in parliament, and the three ‘strange bedfellows’ could muster a 90-seat majority, Mr Thulesen Dahl ruled out any possibility of a broad-based, ‘social-welfare’ coalition
Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen characterised the National Tax Authority (SKAT) as a ‘sick patient’ after he and Tax Minister Karsten Lauritzen unveiled a major overhaul of tax and debt collection – the government will close down the National Tax Authority (SKAT) next year and replace it with seven regional administrations. Opposition leader Mette Frederiksen accused the ruling Liberals’ deputy PM, Kristian Jensen, who was tax minister between 2004-2010, of being responsible for the share dividend scam, failure to collect billions in debt, and inaccurate property evaluations.
Denmark’s consumer price inflation slowed for the first time in eight months to its lowest level in five months during May.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
The government announced a new foreign and security policy strategy for the next two years (2017-2018), focusing on 5 main themes: Migration and terrorism, regional security, globalisation, the Arctic, and the EU’s future after Brexit.
Britain’s ambassador to Denmark, Dominic Schroeder, laughed off claims by Finance Minister Kristian Jensen that Britain’s days as a global power had ‘been and gone’. Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said he was open to the idea of the United Kingdom remaining a full member of the European Union should it decide to change its mind about leaving the bloc.
A significant majority of the electorate want to maintain border control after the EU Commission’s temporary extension expires later this year – 57% of voters believe it should continue, while 33% believe Denmark should return to open borders, even though the refugee influx has decreased drastically. Germany introduced increased border checks along the Danish border, Monday as part of security measures imposed ahead of the July 7-8 G20 summit in Hamburg.
It was revealed that the Danish authorities have approved the sale of cyber-surveillance technology to authoritarian regimes in the Middle East – under confidential agreements Denmark has exported enough technology to keep the whole populations of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar under surveillance.
Integration Minister Inger Støjberg said she was ‘extremely satisfied’ to see two more hate preachers added to the blacklist of Islamists banned from entering Denmark.
Somalia’s ambassador to the EU said his country won’t accept any of its nationals facing deportation from Denmark until the Danish authorities release 36-year-old Abdulle Ahmed, who’s been confined to a psychiatric facility in Slagelse for the past 16 years.
Denmark topped the 2017 Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2017, published by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and Cleantech Group (CTG).
The German and Danish government reached an agreement to improve electricity trade, which according to the Danish Energy ministry has been limited due to bottlenecks on the German grid.
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Social Affairs:
Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen called for widespread video surveillance of the social housing district of Vollsmose in Odense, Denmark’s 3rd-biggest city after national post service Postnord suspended all deliveries to the immigrant-dominated area due to threats of violence – a local councillor suggested sending in the military to protect mail carriers.
Six local authorities in north Jutland will shortly be receiving a cheque for DKK6.6m ($1m) from finance Minister Kristian Jensen as their reward for finding work for 271 refugees last year.
Denmark slipped to 19th place on the World Economic Forum’s rankings on gender equality and is now lagging far behind Scandinavian neighbours Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland – at the same time the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Denmark 31st, five places below last year and 18 down on 13th place in 2008.
A spokesman for the homeless warned new anti-begging legislation, aimed at stopping the surge of Roma beggars on the streets of Denmark’s biggest cities, will criminalise very vulnerable people.
Business:
According to a new survey by The European Chamber, Denmark has Europe’s most favourable business conditions.
The National Bank issued a warning that banks are at risk of missing several warning signs that may be pointing toward another crisis, even though they are awash with cash after five years of negative interest rates. A ‘stress test’ carried out by the National Bank, Wednesday, showed a number of Danish banks would be close to exceeding their capital buffer requirements, imposed after the 2008 financial crisis, in the event of a severe recession.
And That Was The Week That Was, June 12th – 18th 2017 – To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)