The Week That Was, September 25th – October 1st 2017
Politics/Economy
Immigration Minister Inger Støjberg reignited the Mohammed cartoons controversy by posting a screenshot of her iPad showing a drawing of the Prophet Mohammad on Facebook, the same image that sparked off anti-Denmark riots throughout the Middle East in 2005 – the Ministry’s website was hacked two days later while the government’s attitude towards Muslims again provoked negative headlines throughout the world.
31% of businesses in the construction sector named the shortage of labour as the biggest threat to production, the highest since 2008. Despite the growing lack of manpower a new survey by the right-leaning think-tank CEPOS showed young adults would rather study than work – the number of people claiming a student grant (SU) has increased by more than 50% over the past decade, from 203,000 in 2008 to 324,000.
The Conservatives are aiming to upgrade the Danish military to deal with the increasing threat from Russia – ahead of upcoming negotiations surrounding a new defence bill the coalition party called for extra spending on sonars to detect submarines and air defence missiles on frigates to protect Danish airspace.
The government plans to crackdown on illegal foreign workers by putting forward a new bill that will increase the penalty for anyone hiring a person or people without a work permit.
Voters named ex-NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the best Danish prime minister of the past 35 years in a new survey.
EU/Foreign Affairs
Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen distanced himself from France’s President Macron’s wide-ranging vision for European Union reform by urging the EU to concentrate on concrete solutions for EU citizens’ problems instead of focussing on major integration projects.
Immigration Minister Inger Støjberg welcomed the EU Commission’s proposal to allow countries within the Schengen zone to extend temporary border controls for up to three years during a crisis.
The ruling Liberals’ immigration spokesman Markus Knuth created a stir by claiming he was looking forward to a ‘better balance’ in the German parliament following the far-right Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) surprising success in the German elections.
The government was accused of concealing the real cost of its bid to bring the EMA (European Medicines Agency) to Denmark, after new documents obtained by Politiken revealed DKK1.7bn has been set aside over the next 20 years to host the agency even though Parliament’s Finance Committee has only approved an initial DKK49m.
Denmark and Lithuania joined forces to put pressure on the EU regarding the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline – at a meeting in Vilnus, Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen and his Lithuanian counterpart, Linas Linkevičius, criticised Gazprom’s project, which will transport natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea and Danish territorial waters south of Bornholm.
A TV documentary, The Warship’s Secret (Krigsskibets Hemmelighed) claimed North Korean forced labour helped to build a new Danish warship, the Lauge Koch.
A new Wilke poll for Jyllands-Posten showed Danes have an increasingly positive opinion of Germans – 80% of respondents said they have a ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ view of Germany today
The Government presented its priorities for Danish development cooperation for 2018 as well as an overview of the development cooperation budget 2018-2021.
Danish troops in Iraq were involved in direct combat for the first time this year.
Queen Margrethe will meet tribal chief Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli during her official visit to Ghana in November.
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Social Affairs:
Armed troops started to guard high-risk potential terrorist targets in the capital on Friday such as the Krystalgade synagogue.
The Social Democrats proposed that Muslim women who wear the burka or niqab should be banned from receiving state handouts.
The Muslim Nord-Vest free school in Copenhagen is closing down after Board of Education inspectors found teaching material in Arabic promoting ‘jihad’ and armed combat.
Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen said he’s sad to see Danes falling foul of the government’s new anti-begging law that was rushed through parliament in June as a snap reaction to the Romanian beggars problem.
Danish hospitals are spending millions on treating foreign patients without ever receiving reimbursement.
Business:
Denmark was ranked 12th on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2017–2018, which rates countries by how well they can sustain productivity and inclusive economic growth – Business Minister Brian Mikkelsen (K) said it’s disappointing to see Denmark lowest amongst all Scandinavian countries.
The money laundering scandal continues to haunt Danske Bank – Berlingske reported how a Russian arms dealer transferred millions of dollars to an account at the bank controlled by the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan. Thousands of Azerbaijani citizens took to the streets last weekend to protest against the money laundering activities of President Ilham Aliyev, who allegedly funneled millions of dollars through Danske Bank.
Danske Bank urged its Nordic counterparts to join together and resist international digital payments services such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
Houston-based oilfield services company Rowan Cos is reportedly in talks to acquire the drilling business of A.P. Moller-Maersk, which is selling off its energy assets to focus on transportation.
Danish ‘super architect’ Bjarke Ingels has been commissioned by the government of Dubai to build the largest ever space simulation city in the UAE desert, which will provide a realistic model to simulate life on Mars.
And That Was The Week That Was, September 25th – October 1st 2017 : To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)