The Week That Was, October 31st – November 5th 2016

Posted on 06. Nov, 2016 in: TWTW

Politics/Economy

Newspapers agreed that Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen reputation as a major, political strategist is in tatters after he was forced to postpone the government’s long term 2025 economic plan ’indefinitely’  –   Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen said the immediate aim is to put together agreement on the 2017 budget as soon as possible.

The political division between the government and its biggest ally on the right grew even wider, Tuesday, when the Danish People’s Party’s (DPP) ridiculed a police warning that the authorities will lose access to a large EU crime database if Denmark withdraws from the Schengen open borders agreement and imposes permanent border control.

A new poll showed the DPP continues to suffer from the EU fraud scandal – the biggest party on the right would win no more than 14.5% of the vote if an election was held today, a 30% drop on its 2016 election result, and would lose 12 of is 37 seats in parliament – the opposition would regain power if an election was held right now with a 50.7/49.3% majority.

Justice Minister Søren Pind warned that US presidential candidate Donald Trump can’t just be brushed off as an isolated American phenomenon and unless more people start to distance themselves from populism there’s a genuine risk of ‘mob rule’.

A cross-party majority agreed to allocate DKK227.4m (€30m) over the next four years to fight the growth of an alienated parallel society and combat radicalisation and extremism.

The unemployment rate fell slightly in September, from 112.500 to 111.200, although the seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at 4.2 percent, the same rate as in the previous two months.

Foreign Affairs/EU

After Danish fighter jets bombed ISIS headquarters in Mosul, Iraq, Defence Minister Peter Christensen said the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) must be won at all costs, even if the price is civilian deaths. Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said he will be making a formal request to parliament for an extra DKK400m ($60m) to help refugee organisations operating in war-torn regions in Syria and Iraq.

Think Tank Europe warned the police will be excluded from a large database containing information on wanted or missing persons, persons under surveillance by the police and persons, and cars and people who banned from entering the EU,  if Denmark withdraws from the Schengen open borders agreement and imposes permanent border control – Danish police, tax, and immigration authorities accessed the database extensively last year – 5.6 million times, according to a report by Think-Tan Europe for Berlingske.

Russia was high on the agenda when Nordic and Baltic prime ministers gathered in Copenhagen for the Nordic Council summit – at a press conference, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Russia has adopted a more ‘assertive and aggressive stance’.

The Danish economy is already feeling the effects of Great Britain’s impending exit from the EU – Jan Størup Nielsen, chief analyst at Nordea Bank, said the significant weakening of the pound against the Danish kroner is hurting exports to the UK, which have dropped by nearly DKK 0.5 bn ($0.07 billion) since the June Brexit vote, to around 2.75 billion DKK ($0.04 billion).

The Socialist People’s Party agreed to pay back DKK75,000 to the European Parliament after tabloid daily BT revealed EU subsidies were, unlawfully, spent on an election campaign.

Parties called on Speaker of the House Pia Kjærsggard to apologise for calling the European Parliament a ‘nest of rats’.

The EU ordered Denmark to tighten its border control at Copenhagen Airport – the European Commission has submitted 13 recommendations to Denmark regarding problems with travelling both in and out of the airport in Kastrup.

Google rejected charges lodged by Danish EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager that it has abused its position as the internet’s dominant search engine to suppress rivals.

Denmark’s foreign exchange reserves rose marginally to DKK 449.9 bn ($67.2bn) in October, up 0.1 billion from the previous month.

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

Social Affairs

The controversial jewellery law, which provoked worldwide criticism for Denmark when passed in January, has been employed just four times this year to seize a total of DKK117,600 (nearly €16,000) from refugees seeking asylum. Only 39 refugees applied for asylum in Denmark last week, the lowest since border control was reintroduced in January and the 15th week in a row with fewer than 100 new asylum seekers – Denmark’s temporary border control expires this week but the EU Commission has granted an extension until February 12th.

Flemming Rose, the former editor of Jyllands Posten who gave the go-ahead for the notorious Mohammed cartoons that ignited anti-Denmark riots throughout the Middle East ten years ago, claimed the paper, which has always proclaimed the right to freedom of speech, tried to censor him.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights warned the government that placing refugees granted restricted residency while awaiting deportation is ‘balancing on the edge of what’s permissible’.

The Italian consortium behind the Copenhagen Metro Team (CMT) that’s currently expanding the metro underground rail system throughout the capital reacted angrily to being linked to the Mafia – Denmark’s biggest trade union, 3F, claimed to have received information that contractors working on the metro were part of an international drugs ring controlled by the Calabrian Mafia in Southern Italy.

A high-ranking deputy inspector and a police commissioner were charged with perjury after it was revealed they lied in court regarding the Tibet affair.

The police launched a manhunt for a Syrian refugee after the bodies of his 27-year-old wife and seven and nine-year-old daughters were discovered inside a freezer in their apartment in the southern town of Aabenraa.

Business

DI (The Confederation of Danish Industry) predicted that exports will slow even further over the next few years as growth in Denmark’s key markets abroad continues to stagnate.

Former US presidential candidate Bernie Saunders lashed out at Novo Nordisk – the Vermont senator tweeted: “People are dying or getting sicker because they can’t afford their insulin, just so Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk can make outrageous profits.”

Oil and shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S reported a 43 percent decline in third-quarter profit, Wednesday, just as the company announced plans to divest its remaining ownership stake in Denmark’s biggest bank, Danske.

Global Danish jewellery maker Pandora upwardly adjusted its profit projection for the year after posting positive Q3 results – the company’s best performing region was the Asia Pacific, with sales growth of 46 per cent, while the Americas region grew the least at 6 per cent.

Copenhagen City Hall has sold off all its investments in tobacco companies – Health Commissioner Ninna Thomsen said the council has sold shares for DKK6.7m ($1m) and will no longer invest in companies that get over 5% of their turnover from cigarettes.

The Confederation of Danish Industry said the CETA free trade deal with Canada would be especially beneficial to Danish manufacturers of foodstuffs, health equipment, medicine, and ‘green’ technologies, but also be positive for all the business sector.

Vietnam’s trade ministry held talks with Carlsberg regarding the company’s priority purchase rights in local brewer Habeco.

And That Was The Week That Was,  October 31st – November 5th 2016: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)