The Week That Was, August 18–24th 2025:
Politics/Economy:
Former prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that Vladimir Putin poses the gravest threat to freedom and democracy in Europe since World War II – the ex-NATO secretary equated the Russian president with the ‘worst criminals in world history: Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Saddam Hussein.’
The centrist Social Liberals, who generally tilt towards the left, said they won’t be naming their preferred choice for prime minister until shortly before the next general election, which needs to take place before November 2026 at the latest.
The Moderates are heading for a potential exit from parliament – a new poll showed the coalition partner would win no more than 2.7% of the vote if an election was held today, only slightly more than the 2% threshold needed for parliamentary representation.
Finance Minister Nikolaj Wammen warned that a Liberal Alliance (LA) proposal to return the state’s significant budget surplus to taxpayers would create a ‘bomb under the welfare system’.
Ahead of cross-party political negotiations on a new funding agreement on law enforcement, Liberal (Venstre) leader Troels Lund Pouslsen said he would be pushing for at least an extra DKK1b ($156m) for the police on top of their current DKK12.3bn ($1.87bn) budget.
The government, already under pressure to reduce VAT on food, announced plans to abolish the 25% sales tax on books, the highest in the world, a sign that the election campaign is underway, analysts said – a new survey showed 80% of the electorate want lower VAT on food.
Former cabinet minister Henrik Sass Larsen appeared in court on charges of possessing over 6,200 images and 2,200 video clips classified as child abuse material along with a prohibited sex doll resembling a child.
Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the government is looking to establish a new permanent Arctic Command headquarters in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, and possibly a Greenlandic military unit.
Greenland’s government announced plans to cut DKK864m ($135m) from the national budget over the next four years in an effort to stave off ‘an impending economic crisis’ – Finance Minister Múte B. Egede blamed Denmark’s illegal birth control practices carried out by Danish doctors on Inuit women sixty years ago for his country’s economic problems.
Parliament’s Ombudsman launched a probe into Greenland’s prisons and detention centres following a highly critical report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).
Unemployment rose slightly in July with 300 more people joining the jobless queue, bringing the total number of full-time unemployed to 87,800.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Russia has no genuine interest in peace despite Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a deal with Vladimir Putin – Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen warned Europe not to ‘sit idle’ as the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year and denounced countries that ‘continue to pay lip service while contributing very little.’ Foreign media reported that the EU’s 19th package of sanctions against Russia will be discussed in Copenhagen on 29-30 August.
In her first public response to a personal attack by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar Saar, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the Israeli government is in no position to take offence at ‘much-needed’ criticism from the rest of the world and needs to ‘change course.’ In a joint statement, Denmark and 21 other countries condemned Israel’s decision to approve thousands of new homes in a disputed area east of Jerusalem – Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said expanding settlements in the West Bank is unacceptable and a breach of international law. A Danish military aircraft successfully airdropped humanitarian aid over Gaza.
Foreign Minister Troels Lund Poulsen met with his Greenland counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, and Germany’s deputy defence minister Nils Schmid to discuss strengthening trilateral cooperation in the Arctic region.
The Council of Europe again criticised the government for ignoring repeated anti-corruption recommendations aimed at ministers, advisers, and police.
Russia attacked Denmark and several other European countries after they signed a UN Security Council statement condemning Moscow’s actions in Georgia in 2008.
A Copenhagen City Hall councillor proposed that further expansion of the capital’s Metro undergound system should be financed with defence spending earmarked for NATO, in line with Italy where the government has said a planned suspension bridge to Sicily could be classified as military related.
Social Affairs:
Denmark was one of the few European Union member states that recorded a drop in greenhouse gas emissions in the first quarter of 2025 – new Eurostat data showed Denmark registered a -4.3% decline compared with the same period in 2024, slightly less than Finland (-4.4%) but far behind Malta which recorded the steepest drop (-6.2%).
New Justice Ministry figures showed male descendants of non-Western immigrants are convicted of group violence at nearly four times the national average.
Business:
Two of Denmark’s so-called ‘superstar companies’ – Danfoss and Grundfos – reported strong growth in the U.S. despite Donald Trump’s trade wars and talk of economic doom.
Denmark’s biggest company, Novo Nordisk imposed a global hiring freeze for all positions deemed non-essential to its business operations.
Pandora was the latest big-name Danish company to see its shares plummet – the global jewellery chain followed the downward turn by Novo Nordisk and Orsted. Brewing giant Carlsberg, the world’s third-largest brewe, reported results below expectations for both profit and volume in the first half of the year, which led to a nearly 7% decline in its share price.