The Week That Was, November 1st – 7th 2021:
Coronavirus/ What happened last week:
Daily corona infections topped 2,000 at the end of the week and are now higher than the corresponding period last year, before people were vaccinated. By Saturday the number of people hospitalised had risen to 277, the highest this year, as the death toll started to increase again.
Head of the Danish Health Authority (DHA) Søren Brostrøm urged lawmakers to reintroduce the corona passport – Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said he would consider it.
Trade unions warned they will urge their members to resist shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk’s demand for all employees at the company’s Copenhagen headquarters to get vaccinated against corona.
A number of candidates standing for the anti-migrant New Right party in the upcoming municipal elections are spreading conspiracy theories about corona vaccines – a review of Facebook messages by TV2 showed that at least six New Right candidates have shared ‘anti-vax’ content.
Politics/Economy:
The ministries of Justice and State agreed to assist the police’s efforts to recreate deleted text messages from the prime minister and her advisors for the Mink Commission’s probe into the government’s decision to cull all of the country’s mink last year. At a press conference, Wednesday, the PM admitted to deleting all relevant text messages regarding the order after 30 days on the advice of her head of department at the Ministry of State, Barbara Bertelsen – Liberal (Venstre) leader Jacob Ellemann-Jensen said he was left with the impression of a prime minister who’s hiding something while Conservative leader Søren Pape Poulsen called the whole affair ‘mysterious’.
Two leading law professors claimed Ms Frederiksen was aware her text messages would be needed in a future investigation of the mink cull affair before she deleted them.
Health Minister Magnus Heunicke was summoned to appear before parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee after a memo obtained by Berlingske revealed that he approved an internal government paper last autumn stating directly there was no legal basis for the mass slaughter of all mink ordered by the government in November.
On her final day at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, Tuesday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Danish and British pension funds would invest $130 billion by 2030 to fight climate change. Greenland’s government took a first step toward joining the Paris Agreement on climate but will not commit to any specific targets for reducing emissions.
Denmark will ban ban public investments and government subsidies for fossil fuel projects outside of its own borders from 2022.
The opposition Liberals (Venstre) proposed removing the punitive, top rate of income tax to ease the manpower shortage.
The number of jobless fell by 5,400 to 94,600 in September as the economy continues to recover.
Foreign Affairs/EU:
The Chinese embassy in Copenhagen lashed out at NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for playing up the so-called ‘China threat’ during a short stopover in Copenhagen, Wednesday – Mr Stoltenberg expressed concern about China’s ‘massive military build up’ and warned that the global balance of power is changing ‘not least because China is emerging as a larger and stronger military power.’
The Danish authorities detained a Russian research vessel in the port of Skagen, northern Jutland, at the request of a ‘3rd party’, named as the Canadian company One Ocean Expeditions.
Top-ranking civil servant Thomas Ahrenkiel, who was set to become Denmark’s new ambassador to Germany in 2020 before being suspended pending an investigation into allegations of espionage in the armed services, is leaving the Foreign Ministry for a job in the private sector.
Social Affairs:
A group of residents from Mjølnerparken, the much-maligned social housing estate on the fringe of Nørrebrø in Copenhagen, are suing the Housing Ministry for approving a plan to sell off half of the apartments in the area, part of the previous government’s plan to rid Denmark of ghettos by 2030.
28,000 turkeys were slaughtered after bird flu was discovered at a farm close to Slagelse in the Zeeland region.
A delegation from Human Rights Watch (HRW) will arrive in Denmark this week to discuss the recent increase in deportation of Syrian refugees.
Business:
AP Moller-Maersk (APM), the world’s biggest shipping company, reported a sharp rise in profit amid strong worldwide demand for shipments of goods as economies bounce back – revenue grew nearly 68% in the third quarter, to a record-high $16.6bn, up from $9.9bn in the same three-month period last year.
Fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) announced plans to pump €100 bn ($116 bn) into green energy investments by 2030, a 600% increase on its current portfolio.
Global pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk posted impressive third-quarter (Q3) profit boosted by strong demand for its diabetes care as well as its new obesity treatment – net profit increased by 12% in the first nine months of 2021.
Danske Bank suspended all debt collection in Denmark until an over-collection case that has led the bank to compensate 7,800 customers is settled.
And cars on Danish roads are getting greener – 43% of all cars sold last month, or 5,409 vehicles, were electic or hybrid.
And That Was The Week That Was, November 1st – 7th: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).