The Week That Was, January 2nd – January 8th 2017

Politics/Economy

Politicians and experts sounded the alarm after Politiken revealed that 1,600 failed asylum seekers have gone missing in Denmark over the past 18 months – the Danish People’s Party’s (DPP) Martin Henriksen called it a threat to national security that could lead to a terrorist attack.

US President-elect Donald Trump raised serious doubts about the Danish Air Force’s planned multi-billion purchase of 27 new F-35 fighter jets with two tweets that questioned the agreement with Lockheed Martin.

Leading economists dismissed Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s New Year call for reforms – Michael Svarer, head of the ‘wise men’ of the Economic Council, said he could see no immediate need for reforms aimed at improving the state’s finances and was backed by his predecessor, Professor Hans Jørgen Whitta-Jakobsen, who said all the reforms needed to stabilise the economy have already been implemented. Right-leaning think-tank CEPOS warned that pushing through reforms will be difficult when so many people in this country are dependent upon welfare.

The Danske Bank lowered its forecast for Denmark’s economic growth this year but at the same time warned of the risk of economic overheating within the next few years.

Foreign Affairs/EU

Integration Minister Inger Støjberg said border control has been ‘well worth the expense’, in response to Justice Ministry figures showing 12 months of control have cost more than DKK200m ($32m) and thousands of police hours – the government has requested permission from the EU to extend temporary border control that expires on February 12th.

Ms Støjberg again urged refugees to return to their native country if it’s safe for them to do so – she said there are no rules stating refugees need to live in Denmark for the rest of their life.

The Danish People’s Party called for a review of all residency permits granted to foreigners over the past decade – immigration spokesman Martin Henriksen warned that if Denmark has to wait for peace in Somalia, Syria, or Iraq before sending refugees home they could end up here permanently.

Tabloid daily Ekstra Bladet claimed that Danish People’s Party (DPP) leadership has for years instructed local constituencies how to apply for EU grants to fund summer parties for members.

Danish EU Competition Commissioner launched an in-depth investigation into Luxembourg’s tax treatment of the French energy company Engie, formerly the GDF Suez group.

Denmark’s ambassador to China said President Xi Jinping’s political direction in China’s ‘Year of the Rooster’ will have significant influence in 2017, not only on his own country’s economic development and reform process but also on the rest of the world – and not least Denmark.

Queen Margrethe, aided by Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, greeted 75 foreign ambassadors at the traditional New Year’s Diplomatic Reception at Christiansborg, Tuesday – in her traditional New Year address to the nation HM Queen Margrethe urged Danes to offer refugees a warm welcome but stressed that the state also needs to make demands on the newcomers.

The High Court ruled that 20-year-old Chung Yoo-ra, wanted by the South Korean police for alleged economic crime, should remain in custody for four weeks after her arrest by Danish police on Sunday.

To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)

Social Affairs

The head of the Christian Democrat Party compared the Kærshovedgård Departure Centre that houses foreign offenders and failed asylum-seekers awaiting deportation to a concentration camp.

312 refugees attempted to cross the Øresund Strait and reach Sweden by foot in 2016, either through the train tunnel or across the bridge.

Gross unemployment grew by 1,100 in November as more refugees and immigrants, hit by the cap on social benefits, joined the jobless queue but the overall rate held steady for the fourth consecutive month.

Denmark has often been described as a ‘smokers’ paradise’ but Gallup’s latest annual survey of Danes’ smoking habits revealed just 15% of men smoke on a daily basis and 17% of women – at the same time new cancer research data from NORDCAN revealed Denmark comes in last in virtually every significant category and has one of the lowest survival rates in Western Europe.

The police or another public authority entered private premises 271 times last year without a search warrant, a serious threat to civil liberties according to the civil rights think tank, Justitia.

Business

The Italian consortium behind the Copenhagen Metro Team (CMT) that’s currently expanding the underground rail system throughout the capital threatened to sue Denmark’s biggest union, 3F, for wrongfully alleging links to the Mafia.

Despite signs of a recovering economy, 6,792 businesses went bust last year, 130 more than 2010 when the financial crisis was at its highest.

Taxpayers and companies’ debt to the state is expected to top DKK100bn ($16bn) this year, an all-time high

Mærsk Oil said it’s ready to resume talks with the government concerning the future of the Tyra gasfield in the North Sea – ahead of New Year the company threatened to stop production at Tyra in October 2018 as it’s no longer economically viable.

Auto sales hit a new record-high in 2016 as nearly 223,000 vehicles were driven off showroom forecourts.

And That Was The Week That Was, January 2nd – January 8th 2016 – to read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)