The Week That Was, May 15th – 21st 2017
Politics/Economy
In a new report the National Audit Office (Rigsrevisionen) questioned the controversial 2014 deal that saw a significant ownership share of DONG Energy sold to U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs – despite the criticism the ruling Liberals’ finance spokesman, Jacob Jensen, said there’s no reason to change the procedure for the sale of publicly-owned companies. A tax expert warned that Goldman Sachs could legally avoid paying tax on earnings of more than DKK10bn ($1.4bn) by using a Luxembourg tax loophole.
A new poll showed the ruling Liberals are out of step with voters in their effort to raise the retirement age again – nearly 70% of respondents said they are against making people work longer, with just over 12% in favour.
The government backed down and agreed to set up an independent commission to investigative the Tax Department (SKAT) after a series of tax scandals over the past ten years that have cost the state billion.
A cross-party majority agreed to set aside DKK972m for a wide range of subsidies to secure the future of the Danish fishing industry.
EU/Foreign Affairs
During his short visit to Israel, Wednesday, Foreign Minister Ander Samuelsen offered support for the ‘two-state solution’ but acknowledged that the country is in a ‘very difficult security situation’ – Prime Minister Netanyahu asked that Denmark halt assistance to Palestinian organisations that support BDS (The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement).
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance’s (ECRI) latest country report on Denmark offered 24 recommendations focusing on legislative issues, hate speech, violence and integration policies. Integration Minister Inger Støjberg warned Denmark will maintain its hardline immigration and integration stance despite strong criticism – at a Brussels meeting she said that in the final instance it’s Denmark that will decide whether to maintain border control.
Economic growth in Denmark will be slightly stronger this year than previously forecast, the European Commission said in its Spring Outlook – 1.7% compared to 1.3% in 2016, rising to 1.8% in 2018.
Denmark’s EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager slapped social media giant Facebook with a DKK825m (€110m/$122m) fine for giving misleading statements during the company’s $19 billion acquisition of the internet messaging service WhatsApp in 2014 – this came just one day after she eased the rules for state investment in infrastructure projects.
A confidential report obtained by Politiken described how two deported asylum seekers were beaten up by an Afghan police officer aboard a flight to Afghanistan in the presence of Danish police officers.
In a new report, three development organisations warned of ‘serious problems and mistakes’ in the method Denmark uses to calculate the financial aid given to developing countries to combat CO2 emissions and climate change.
The Danish National Bank again expressed its strong support for the Danish krone’s link to the euro and vowed to continue defending the currency by cutting interest rates or intervening more heavily in foreign exchange markets.
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Social Affairs
The Danish People’s Party (DDP) said Somali parents who send their children back to their own country for socio-cultural re-education have no right to live in Denmark and should be deported.
The 17-year-old ‘Kundby girl’ was given a 6-year jail sentence after being convicted of planning an act of terrorism, the same day as German prosecutors in Stuttgart charged a Syrian refugee with preparing a bomb attack in Denmark.
Parties on both sides of the aisle called for a cap on the number of immigrant children in classrooms, following a new survey showing a significant number perform far worse in virtually all subjects than their Danish counterparts.
A majority of the electorate want to see more video surveillance of public places – in a new YouGov poll, 60% of voters agreed there should be far more than the current 500,000 CCTV cameras that are currently in place, while only 15% disagreed.
The High Court overturned a murder conviction for a nurse accused of murdering three patients.
A 49-year-old Danish national suspected of genocide in Rwanda was detained and is facing extradition.
Denmark slipped to eighth in the the latest Rainbow Europe report of LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex) rights.
Business:
Global engineering company FLSmidth signed a €100m contract for a state-of-the-art cement plant located in the North Africa region.
LEGO reached its target of covering all its power needs with sustainable energy three years ahead of time – the toy giant was again named Denmark’s most valuable brand by leading consultancy company Brand Finance.
Novozymes announced plans to invest a further DKK250m ($36m) in its plant in Blair, Nebraska USA.
Vestas is set to hire hundreds of workers at its new engineering design centre in Porto, Portugal.
Maersk Oil announced that two major North Sea projects – the Culzean gas field development in the UK North Sea and Johan Sverdrup oil field offshore Norway – are on schedule and on budget.
Danish export companies are enjoying unprecedented success – the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) projected export growth of 4.5% this year, the highest since 2011 and double the government’s own forecast.
Denmark’s two-biggest banks, Danske and Nordea, acknowledged their failure to prevent criminal money laundering activities.
And That Was The Week That Was, May 15th – 21st 2017– To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)