The Week That Was, October 8th–14th 2018

Politics/Economy:

A new poll showed a virtual dead heat between the two opposing parliamentary factions if the Alternatives go ahead with their threat not to back either side.

Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen presented the government’s much-anticipated climate proposals, Tuesday, a list of 38 measures aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 37 million tons. New figures showed the government has a long way to go live up to its goal of phasing out petrol and diesel cars by 2030 – only 524 electric cars were registered during the first six months of this year, putting Denmark 14th in Europe, on a par with Romania. Latvia, and Slovakia.

The Danish People’s Party (DPP) had threatened to block next year’s budget unless money was apportioned to extend border control.

Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen backed down and agreed to review legislation that requires telecom companies to maintain logs of all mobile calls and text messages.

Goods exports – machinery, foodstuffs, medicine – fell by 1.9% in August from the previous month as imports rose by 1%.

EU/Foreign Affairs:

Defence Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen accused President Trump of ‘upsetting’ the world order by breaking down international rules that have been formed since World War 2 – he said he was ‘shocked’ by recent events.

Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen urged Great Britain to make concessions as it approaches the final straight for Brexit – ahead of this week’s EU summit the PM warned that it ‘takes two to tango’. Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen told a Brexit conference in Copenhagen the EU needs to become ‘leaner, meaner, and more effective’ after Great Britain pulls out next year.

Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stressed Denmark’s continuing support for Israel during talks with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, who landed in Denmark on Tuesday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of a mission to rescue Danish Jews from the Nazis.

Although Russian customers are heavily implicated in the Danske Bank money laundering scandal it was revealed the Russian financial supervisory authority hasn’t been asked to help the ongoing investigations in Denmark and Estonia.

The authorities reported a number of Danish fishermen to the police on suspicion of making false claims for EU subsidies – the National Audit Office  said many applicants had been ‘very creative’ in their applications for funding from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) sent water purification equipment, power generators, and a team of specialists to central Sulawesi, Indonesia, as part of the international relief operation to help the survivors of the earthquake-tsunami disaster.

The Danish government announced that border controls in place along the German border since 2016 will be extended for an additional six months from November 12, citing the heightened risk of terrorism as justification for the extension.

Denmark won a seat in the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Social Affairs:

Integration Minister Inger Støjberg dismissed claims that the government’s low start rate for welfare claimants – the so-called ‘integration benefit’ – is in violation of the Danish constitution. She said people who come to Denmark can’t expect to rely on handouts from day one – they need to contribute to society.

Insider secrets revealed by former head of PET (Danish Intelligence) Jakob Scharf in his in his controversial 2016 whistleblower book, Seven Years With PET, have created ‘serious problems’ for the agency, his successor told Copenhagen District Court, Monday.

Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen announced a raft of anti-crime measures to boost local policing throughout the country.

Denmark’s reputation as one of the most equal societies on earth was confirmed by the country’s top spot on the latest 2018 Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index, which measures the commitment of governments to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.

Danish police are working closely with Interpol to find a Danish public sector employee suspected of embezzling millions of kroner – the 64-year-old woman, described as a ‘trusted worker for many years’ at the Social Ministry, fled the country after it was discovered she had transferred DKK111m ($17m) to her own bank account between 2002-2018.

A new Rockwool Foundation report found it’s far more difficult for refugees to gain permanent residency in Denmark than in other comparative counties.

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Business:

Business Minister Rasmus Jarlov said he found it ‘strange’ the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) hasn’t requested more funding or resources in its investigation of the Danske Bank money laundering scandal – in a new Voxmeter poll only 40% of the electorate found Denmark’s biggest bank trustworthy, compared to 70% previously. Despite its massive money laundering problems Danske Bank re-won the tender to process the state’s wage payments of around DKK65m annually.

Partially state-owned energy company Ørsted (formerly DONG) announced a buy-out of U.S.-based Deepwater Wind LLC for DKK3.3bn ($510m) as part of its strategy to expand in a major growth market.

Car sales dropped by 33 percent in September compared to the previous month – sales have been negatively impacted by new testing rules for petrol consumption.

U.S. tech giant Apple acquired Danish visual effects player Spektral for DKK200m ($30m).

And That Was The Week That Was, October 8th–14th 2018: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).