The Week That Was September 28th – October 4th 2026:
Politics/Economy:
The government announced plans to fund extensive spending in the upcoming budget by scrapping student grants (SU) for 81,000 young people living at home, raising work requirements for graduates seeking unemployment benefits, and capping tax deductions for mortgage payments - the government is also pushing to scrap the middle income tax rate (mellemskat) in a move that would give around 619,000 taxpayers an extra DKK7,200 per year.
The military admitted that soldiers fired 43 shots at a civilian passenger plane flying over the Borris firing range in west Jutland last year.
The government launched a new partnership aimed at improving pig welfare and reducing the number of live piglets exported from Denmark.
The tax authorities recovered nearly DKK539m ($82m) from around 3,500 domestic and foreign companies that were audited last year - errors were found in nearly two out of three companies that were checked.
The Danish People’s Party (DPP) awarded leader Morten Messerschmidt a significant wage rise following the party’s resurgence in the polls.
A new survey by trade organisation Danske Vandværker found that one in eight – or 12% - of waterworks in this country have been targeted by cyber-attacks.
The economy grew by 0.9% in the second quarter (Q2), significantly more than previously estimated and is now 5.7% higher than a year ago.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Europe shouldn’t allow itself to be intimidated after the Russian Foreign Ministry warned that factories in Europe producing arms for Ukraine are legitimate and potential military targets - Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that Europe is no longer at peace and vowed that Russia won’t deter the continent from strengthening its defences and supporting Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned Denmark’s ambassador to Russia that any repeat of the ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ made by a Danish military helicopter two weeks ago could trigger an escalation and provoke a ‘serious incident’.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump’s obsession with Greenland has been driven solely by national security, not territorial conquest - former US national security adviser John Bolton dismissed last week’s U.S. - Denmark - Greenland security agreement as little more than a reworking of the existing 1951 defence deal that granted the US extensive access to the Danish territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Denmark for its ‘strong and continued support’ during a meeting with outgoing Speaker of the House Søren Gade in Kyiv, Tuesday.
The government announced a major DKK850m ($130m) investment plan aimed at encouraging companies to invest in developing countries.
Denmark’s Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen warned that the EU is preparing for a ‘very tough winter’ with energy prices expected to remain high.
Social Affairs:
Controversial Islamist Mohamed Abdi Kahn applied for permanent residency despite previously stating that Denmark is ‘hostile to Islam’, a ‘sick society’, and the Quran is more important than all man-made laws, including Danish law. The Danish People’s Party (DFF) repeated its call for Syrian refugees who no longer need protection to be sent back to Syria. A 52-year-old Syrian man was jailed for handing DKK30,000 ($4,500) to one of the Swedish men who carried out a terrorist attack near the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen in 2024. A majority of parties backed a proposal that would bar public prosecutors from wearing Muslim headscarves in court.
Around three in four voters in a new Epinion poll said foreigners applying for Danish citizenship should be screened for ‘undemocratic’ views.
Two men with close links to Denmark were among seven suspected Hamas members charged by German prosecutors with plotting to carry out a deadly attack on Israeli or Jewish targets in Germany or Austria.
A majority of the electorate fear that artificial intelligence (AI) could slip beyond human control within the next few years – at the same time an overwhelming 83% in a new Megafon poll for TV2 said they want tighter regulation.
Nearly one in six foreigners eligible to reverse their taxpayer-funded departure from Denmark did so last year.
Business:
Novo agreed a licensing deal worth up to DKK 17.1bn ($2.6bn) with the Chinese company Hengrui Pharma that provides the Danish pharmaceutical giant with global rights to an experimental weight-loss pill.
Global fashion jewellery maker Pandora opened a DKK1bn ($150m) factory in Vietnam, its first production site outside Thailand, reportedly capable of producing up to 60 million pieces of jewellery annually.
The government agreed to increase state support for the planned Danish Hydrogen Backbone 1 pipeline to Germany by DKK 5.6bn ($850m).
The government announced plans to fund extensive spending in the upcoming budget by scrapping student grants (SU) for 81,000 young people living at home, raising work requirements for graduates seeking unemployment benefits, and capping tax deductions for mortgage payments - the government is also pushing to scrap the middle income tax rate (mellemskat) in a move that would give around 619,000 taxpayers an extra DKK7,200 per year.
The military admitted that soldiers fired 43 shots at a civilian passenger plane flying over the Borris firing range in west Jutland last year.
The government launched a new partnership aimed at improving pig welfare and reducing the number of live piglets exported from Denmark.
The tax authorities recovered nearly DKK539m ($82m) from around 3,500 domestic and foreign companies that were audited last year - errors were found in nearly two out of three companies that were checked.
The Danish People’s Party (DPP) awarded leader Morten Messerschmidt a significant wage rise following the party’s resurgence in the polls.
A new survey by trade organisation Danske Vandværker found that one in eight – or 12% - of waterworks in this country have been targeted by cyber-attacks.
The economy grew by 0.9% in the second quarter (Q2), significantly more than previously estimated and is now 5.7% higher than a year ago.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Europe shouldn’t allow itself to be intimidated after the Russian Foreign Ministry warned that factories in Europe producing arms for Ukraine are legitimate and potential military targets - Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that Europe is no longer at peace and vowed that Russia won’t deter the continent from strengthening its defences and supporting Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned Denmark’s ambassador to Russia that any repeat of the ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ made by a Danish military helicopter two weeks ago could trigger an escalation and provoke a ‘serious incident’.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump’s obsession with Greenland has been driven solely by national security, not territorial conquest - former US national security adviser John Bolton dismissed last week’s U.S. - Denmark - Greenland security agreement as little more than a reworking of the existing 1951 defence deal that granted the US extensive access to the Danish territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Denmark for its ‘strong and continued support’ during a meeting with outgoing Speaker of the House Søren Gade in Kyiv, Tuesday.
The government announced a major DKK850m ($130m) investment plan aimed at encouraging companies to invest in developing countries.
Denmark’s Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen warned that the EU is preparing for a ‘very tough winter’ with energy prices expected to remain high.
Social Affairs:
Controversial Islamist Mohamed Abdi Kahn applied for permanent residency despite previously stating that Denmark is ‘hostile to Islam’, a ‘sick society’, and the Quran is more important than all man-made laws, including Danish law. The Danish People’s Party (DFF) repeated its call for Syrian refugees who no longer need protection to be sent back to Syria. A 52-year-old Syrian man was jailed for handing DKK30,000 ($4,500) to one of the Swedish men who carried out a terrorist attack near the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen in 2024. A majority of parties backed a proposal that would bar public prosecutors from wearing Muslim headscarves in court.
Around three in four voters in a new Epinion poll said foreigners applying for Danish citizenship should be screened for ‘undemocratic’ views.
Two men with close links to Denmark were among seven suspected Hamas members charged by German prosecutors with plotting to carry out a deadly attack on Israeli or Jewish targets in Germany or Austria.
A majority of the electorate fear that artificial intelligence (AI) could slip beyond human control within the next few years – at the same time an overwhelming 83% in a new Megafon poll for TV2 said they want tighter regulation.
Nearly one in six foreigners eligible to reverse their taxpayer-funded departure from Denmark did so last year.
Business:
Novo agreed a licensing deal worth up to DKK 17.1bn ($2.6bn) with the Chinese company Hengrui Pharma that provides the Danish pharmaceutical giant with global rights to an experimental weight-loss pill.
Global fashion jewellery maker Pandora opened a DKK1bn ($150m) factory in Vietnam, its first production site outside Thailand, reportedly capable of producing up to 60 million pieces of jewellery annually.
The government agreed to increase state support for the planned Danish Hydrogen Backbone 1 pipeline to Germany by DKK 5.6bn ($850m).
Danish Krone Exchange Rate