The Week That Was, June 4th – June 10th 2018
Politics/Economy
Social Liberal leader Morten Østergaard was accused of ‘playing the Nazi card’ by referring to the possibility of a future Social Democrat-only government, backed by the Danish People’s Party (DPP) and Socialist People’s Party (SPP), as a ‘red-brown’ alliance. In his Constitution Day speech, Tuesday, party leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl reiterated his support for a Liberal-led coalition after the next election but welcomed opposition leader Mette Frederiksen’s announcement that she’s dropped the Social Liberals.
Finance Minister Kristian Jensen backed down and agreed to give local authorities an extra DKK800m for infrastructure projects, after originally threatening to cut DKK1bn from their 2019 budget.
Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen presented the government’s 42-point plan against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
Denmark was criticised for a lack of transparency regarding financial contributions to political parties – GRECO (Group of States Against Corruption), the Council of Europe anti-corruption body, concluded that only a few recommendations regarding the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns have been “dealt with in a satisfactory manner.”
The health sector will be given a DKK1bn cash injection following an agreement between the government and regional authorities.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands signed an agreement to form a special mobile forces unit within NATO that can be deployed in hot-spots throughout the world – the so-called Composite Special Operations Component Command (C-SOCC).
Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen revealed that discussions are underway at EU-level for a new Common European Asylum System – the PM said he had held talks with a number of other European countries recently concerning ‘concrete projects’.
Defence Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen dismissed U.S. claims that Russia intends to use the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to spy on the west – NATO agreed to invest a ‘significant amount’ to upgrade Denmark’s military’s radar station on Bornholm to monitor Russian planes.
Denmark is ‘lagging behind’ in climate affairs – countries such as France, Sweden, Holland, Finland, Portugal, and to a lesser extent Germany and Luxembourg , are seen as greater ‘climate pioneers’.
London-based financier William Browder, a prominent critic of Vladimir Putin, testified before a parliamentary hearing in Copenhagen, Wednesday, in an effort to convince Denmark to become the eighth country to adopt the so-called ‘Magnitsky Law’
The government and six pension funds joined together to launch a DKK4.1bn ($650 million) investment fund aimed at promoting Danish technology and fighting poverty and climate change in developing countries.
The Danish authorities conducted more than 20 million searches in the EU crime-fighting database Schengen information system II (SIS 11) last year, a 300% rise on 2015.
Copenhagen played host to the Nordic-African Foreign Ministers meeting – the agenda included topics such as free trade and globalization, peace and security, opportunities for increased trade and investment, and how to create opportunities for the many young people on the African continent.
The government was given the green light to build a 70-km fence along the border with Germany to keep out wild boar and help protect Denmark’s lucrative pork exports.
The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) embassy in Copenhagen warned its citizens they could face a hefty fine if the violate the ban on face covering veils passed by the Danish parliament last week.
Denmark’s EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is lining up a new hefty fine for Google.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman will visit to Denmark on June 26-27 to attend the international Ukraine Reform Conference: “A Driver for Change”.
Social Affairs:
Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen ordered the Tibet Commission to be re-opened following the discovery of potentially incriminating e-mails that the police originally claimed had been deleted.
A private citizens’ bill petition to ban male circumcision will be put before parliament after having received more than the 50,000 signatures required,
Self-proclaimed ‘freedom fighter’ Tommy Mørck became the first Danish national to be sentenced under a 2016 law that makes it illegal to travel to combat zones in Syria – Aarhus District Court ruled the 39-year-old broke the law by entering an area that Danish citizens are banned from at least 25 times to fight alongside Kurdish forces against the Islamic State (IS).
Four young Muslims pleaded not guilty to the charge they attempted to become foreign fighters in Syria for the Islamic State.
‘Lykkeskolen’, a Muslim free school in Aarhus is facing closure after losing its state-funded education grant.
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Business:
Danish banks are swimming in cash – the sector’s collective earnings increased by 20% last year and the ‘bottom line’ has grown by nearly 400% over the past three years.
The High Court ordered Saxo Bank to pay out compensation exceeding $300,000 in the latest lawsuit stemming from the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) surprise decision in 2015 to remove the Swiss franc’s euro peg.
Danish Crown, Denmark’s biggest food exporter, has acquired Dutch bacon business Zandbergen through its subsidiary Tulip Food Company – the move came just days after Tulip confirmed plans to eliminate 150 jobs at a meat processing plant in Cornwall, UK.
And That Was The Week That Was, June 4th – June 10th 2018: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).