Last Week in Denmark (03.09 - 10.09) Episode 34 Year 3
Welfare or tax cuts; Increased recruitment effort in Southern Europe; Novo Nordisk
Editor HQ
Stock Games 2023: 4 days until the biggest investment competition in Denmark starts. You get to invest 500,000 DKK (fake money), and for one month and a half, you can sell and buy shares by following the real stock market. Whoever earns the biggest gains will win an electric car (worth almost half a million DKK) at the end. Sign up here.
Besides the big prize, the players that sign up as part of the “Last Week in Denmark” league will also compete for a prize. The more players we have in our league, the better the prize for the winner. So far, we have 88 players signed up. To play for the best prize possible, we need 400 players. So, reach out to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and convince them to join the game using our link.
For the next eight editions of the newsletter, our contributor, Andreea Bianca Pascalau Buza, will write a segment about the Stock Games 2023. Concepts, tools, and movements on the stock market, to help you play the game.
Welcome September 2023: 60 events around Denmark will be held to welcome newcomers. Social events, as well as events about work life, culture, and everything in between – physically and online. More than 30 partners – municipalities, state authorities, business organizations, student organizations, business regions, and associations have joined forces to make YOU feel at home in Denmark.
You can meet “Last Week in Denmark” in Aalborg (14 September - Internationals Fair North Denmark); Aarhus (30 September - Aarhus City Welcome); Herning (23 September - International Citizen Day); Kolding (21 September - Intro Kolding); Odense (23 September - International Welcome Day) and Copenhagen (22-23 September - International Citizen Days).
Last Week in Denmark's Universe
Listen to our weekly podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Amazon Music, Goodpods, Podfriend, Castbox, Castro, Player FM, Deezer, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Podcast Index and Buzzsprout.
The podcast is produced by Wizmedia (Broadcast journalist Wizzi Magnussen).
In this week’s episode, you will meet the youngest mayor of Aalborg, Lasse Frimand Jensen, and listen to his plan for an international city and an international public school.
Check out our “New Denmark” merchandise collections: “Moving Forward”; “Searching for Home”; “Vasil”; “Irina”; “Monika” and “Kifaax”.
Read evergreen content on our website: How to get started with investing in Denmark; Born in Denmark: Pregnancy; Born in Denmark: Giving birth
Danish Politics HQ
Danish Citizenship, Integration and Immigration Laws
Increased recruitment effort in Southern Europe: The minister of Employment announced plans to recruit workforce from Southern Europe. The initial idea was to open job placement offices in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In the autumn, we will know if they proceed with the initial plan or come up with an alternative method.
The number of Southern Europeans in Denmark has increased by more than four times in the past 12 years. In 2011, there were 2093 Italian workers, 1186 Spanish workers, and 522 Portuguese workers. Today, there are 9365 Italian workers, 5847 Spanish workers, and 4064 Portuguese workers.
One of the trade union leaders of 3F says, "We have known for a long time that many southern Europeans would like to come to Denmark to work on orderly wages and working conditions. Unfortunately, employers have often turned a blind eye, to instead focus on easier access to foreign labor from third-world countries"
10,371 Ukrainian refugees found a job in Denmark: Of the 38,000 Ukrainian refugees that arrived at the beginning of the war, 29,080 still live in Denmark, out of which, 14,000 are deemed able to work, which equals a 74% employment rate.
Law proposals and ideas
A new law will make it easier for families with children from commercial surrogacy: Approximately 100 children come to Denmark every year as a result of commercial surrogacy (where individuals pay a woman to carry and deliver their child). Under the current law, the woman who gives birth is legally regarded as one of the “parents” and only two people can be registered as “parents”. As you can imagine, this presents a lot of challenges to families with children from commercial surrogacy.
The Social Affairs Ministry is currently considering three proposals: (a) confirmation in writing from the woman who gave birth that she has no rights over the child; (b) legal recognition of the bond between the child and the parents from Denmark; (c) a pre-approval system to be implemented to ensure minimum requirements for the surrogate mother (min. 25 years old, fit mentally and physically, etc.)
The political arena
Further tax cuts will be announced this autumn, says the Finance Minister, Nicolai Wammen. A plan for the Danish economy towards 2030 will be announced this autumn, and it will contain further tax cuts to be implemented in 2024. Until now, we know about the following tax cuts for 2024:
Beskæftigelsesfradrag (Employment deduction) increases from 10.65% to 12.75%
The maximum employment deduction increases from 44,800 DKK to 53,600 DKK
Topskat border moves from 568,900 DKK yearly to 640,104 DKK yearly
Topskat is reduced to 7.5% for income between 640,104 DKK and 750,000 DKK yearly
Topskat remains at 15% for income between 750,000 DKK and 2,5 million DKK yearly
Topskat is increased to 20% for income above 2,5 million DKK yearly (8600 people in Denmark have salaries above 2,5 million DKK)
Local councils vs. the State: The statement made by the prime minister, “The currency of the new era in Danish politics is not money, because we have plenty of it” has triggered the mayors. The local councils need to make difficult decisions due to significant cuts in welfare spending. While the government is promising tax cuts and a very rich finance law for 2024, the mayors need to decide which schools to close and what services to the elderly to cut back, just to give an example. Now, the mayors are publicly criticizing the government for allowing the welfare quality to drop while having the treasury coffers full.
“Welfare or tax cuts” has been the slogan of the Social Democrats for the past two decades, and for the many social democrat voters (the largest group of voters in Denmark) the two are as opposite as day and night.
Denmark’s campaign for the leadership of the European Investment Bank has started: The candidate? Vice-president of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager. She is one of the most famous Danish commissioners, as she left her mark by getting tech giants to pay their taxes in the European Union. To be able to focus on her campaign, she took unpaid leave from her position at the European Commission. If she succeeds, Denmark will need to nominate a new commissioner (at least until the elections in the early summer of 2024).
European Investment Bank is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, and it is jointly owned by the European Union states.
A new leader for the Danish Trade Union Confederation (FH): Morten Skov Christiansen has been elected as the president of the Danish Trade Union Confederation (FH), the organization that represents the 1.3 million trade union members in Denmark.
He is 41 years old, educated as an electronics mechanic, and has a history of activism in Dansk Metal.
100 million DKK in emergency support for Kenya: Almost 50% of the people in Kenya do not have access to clean drinking water due to one of the worst droughts ever recorded. The Danish government decided to donate 100 million DKK to ensure access to water for vulnerable population groups through better management of rainwater from Kenya’s highlands.
Danish Economy HQ
Novo Nordisk is Europe’s most valuable firm: The Danish pharma company has dethroned the French luxury group (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) as Europe’s most valuable firm. LVMH has been the most valuable company for two and a half years. Novo Nordisk's total worth is now about 400 billion euros. The company is more valuable than the entire yearly gross domestic product of Denmark. The reason behind the growth? Two drugs - one against diabetes (Ozempic) and one for weight loss (Wegovy).
Electricity tariffs will rise in January 2024: The consumption tariffs will increase by 1.3 øre/kWh to 12.5 øre/kWh. This is an amount you pay extra on top of the electricity price established by the market or, in some cases, by the fixed contract you made. An average family will see an increase of approximately 232 DKK per year in the cost of electricity.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Invitation for vaccination: If you are either above 65 years old or part of one of the vulnerable groups, then you are invited to get vaccinated for influenza and COVID at regional vaccination sites and pharmacies across the country. When? From the 1st of October. You will be notified directly on e-Boks when you can book an appointment on vacciner.dk.
Healthcare with Punitha Kumar
A whopping 439 whooping cough cases were recorded last month in Denmark, causing the Statens Serum Institut to announce that it is now an epidemic. This is more than four times the number of cases recorded monthly, which is usually 100. The last time Denmark experienced a whooping cough epidemic was in 2019/20. Caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria, whooping cough is best prevented by getting vaccinated. Symptoms often start with a cold and a slight cough before dry and severe coughing fits take place, usually lasting around 10 weeks. Whooping cough can be fatal, especially among babies.
Smoking causes cancer. But did you know it is now suspected to also cause several mental illnesses? In a research project from Aarhus University, experts say the data showed a link between mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, and smoking. The study also showed that the risk of hospitalization for mental disorders among non-smokers was 5%, but it was more than double the amount at 12% for smokers.
According to a 2022 Danish Smoking Habits report by the Danish Health Authority, 23% of the country’s population smoked at least one type of nicotine-containing product.
Nicotine penetrates through mucous membranes and into the blood. This is then carried to the brain, which eventually releases dopamine, the feeling that makes us happy and high.
As the brain is not fully developed until the mid-20s, studies have said that using nicotine products at a young age can have a long-term negative impact on brain development, and that young people become addicted to nicotine more easily than adults.
Education
Big schools vs. small schools: Due to cuts in welfare spending, eight small schools (from villages around Aalborg) risked being closed. However, Aalborg City Council decided to keep them open. Now, the 11 big schools in Aalborg are concerned that they will receive less funding, which will force them to fire some of the teachers. In that direction, they sent a letter to the City Council with the question, “Should the overall quality of education decline just to save eight village schools?”
The spending on “children's welfare and education” in Aalborg needs to be reduced by 125 million DKK. The closure of the eight village schools would have saved 33 million DKK. Now, funding for all the schools in Aalborg will be reduced to reach that amount.
Announcement Board
This section is curated by Cicek Eris. If you have events you want us to include here please send an e-mail to denmarkhappenings@gmail.com. You can check out her newsletter about cultural events in Denmark here.
Esbjerg, 12nd Sep, 14:30-16:00: Do you have children at a Danish public school? Now you can learn more about the culture, methods, codes of conduct, and expectations at public schools in Denmark. Don’t forget to sign up.
Aalborg, 14th Sep, 16:00-18:00: Are you new in Denmark and looking for all the opportunities life has to offer in North Denmark? Internationals’ Fair North Denmark welcomes all new internationals, students, and families alike to Aalborg and the region of North Denmark in this event!
Online, 14th Sep, 17:00-18:00: Are you curious about working and living in Aalborg and North Denmark? Join the live streaming of Internationals Fair North Denmark where you can get to know how it is to live and work in the northern region of Denmark.
Online, 14th Sep, 17:00: Choosing your child's school is a big decision. At this event, you will get valuable insight into the school options in Aarhus so that you can compare them and make a qualified choice.
Ribe, 16th Sep, 14:00: If you want to get a quick overview of the main facilities and the history of Ribe, you can now join a newcomers walk with a guide from the City Archive.
International media about Denmark HQ
Denmark vs Finland: which Nordic country is better to visit? (Lonely Planet)
Dogs perform Mozart with orchestra in Denmark (BBC)
Stock Games 2023 with Andreea Bianca Pascalau Buza
Why participate in the game?
Børsen’s Aktiespil (“stocks game”) is a fun way to keep an eye on the stock market while you get to play with a fictional amount of 500,000 DKK. There is 0% risk as you’re not playing with real money - the only risk is that you might be spammed on mail by Børsen and Alm. Brand (insurance company) as you have to consent to their newsletter to be able to play.
Besides being risk free, you also have the chance to win an electric car 🚗.
How do you play the game?
Step 1: You create an account, log in, and create a portfolio.
Step 2: You invest 500,000 DKK (NOT real money) by choosing stocks from the Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, and American markets.
NB! You can’t choose how many stocks you want from a specific company, but you can choose what percentage of your portfolio should be allocated to that company.
Your portfolio must contain a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 20 stocks (companies). Each stock has to represent a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 25% of your portfolio.
Example: If you decide to invest in Tesla, a minimum of 5% of your portfolio has to be allocated to Tesla, but not more than 25%.
Step 3: You keep an eye on your portfolio during the game and adjust it whenever you want. You can set up your portfolio and forget it until the end of the game, or you can keep making adjustments like a day trader; it's totally up to you.