Last Week in Denmark (04.12 - 11.12) Episode 43 Year 2
39 Days; Reduced speed on motorway; Welders; 50,000 DKK
Editor HQ
50,000 DKK voucher for SMEs: Do you have a business email? Do you have a phone and/or computer where you store company data? Do you collect data from your customers? Then you are operating in the digital world and therefore, you are exposed to its dangers. According to the Danish Center for Cybersecurity, the threat level for cybercrime against businesses is “very high”.
Mainly, we are talking about ransomware attacks, where the hacker encrypts your important business data on your devices and asks for a ransom that will allow you to access them again.
As the threat level for cybersecurity attacks has increased, the government decided to provide a 50,000 DKK voucher for small and medium businesses to help them upgrade their digital security level.
A voucher represents an amount you don’t need to pay back. You can use the voucher to prepare your business in case of ransomware; to train your staff so that the chance for the hacker to get access to your data lowers; to ensure that you are GDPR compliant; to prepare your business for ISO 27001 compliance; to get the new D-label that shows Danish customers/institutions that you have a high security level and a good data management and so on.
You can get support from our partner here on obtaining the grant and implementing it, at no cost for you.
Shout-out: When I started this newsletter, back in 2021, I had the support of my good friends, Andreea and Cristian Buza Pascalau. They made our first logo and graphics. Today, they are starting up a photography business in Aars, 40 km from Aalborg. They are offering Christmas photography for children and families. The photo session is free, you only pay for the pictures you want to buy. Check out their facebook page, BP Studio, here.
Danish Politics HQ
Government Negotiations (Week Five)
39 days without a government. The longest negotiations for a government in modern times. However, we seem to be very close to a historical Socialdemokratiet-Venstre government. A red-blue government led by Mette Frederiksen. The times ahead will not be fun for the government, as the treasury is empty and most likely, there will be no new initiatives funded until 2030.
Key moments from the negotiations this week:
Konservative left the negotiations. They will not be part of the government. Instead, they will attempt to revive the “blue block” and lead it from the opposition.
SF also withdrew from the negotiations. We have now a unique situation where we have opposition to the government from both sides - blue and red. According to SF, the negotiations have become “too blue” for them to accept.
Liberal Alliance and DF are still part of the negotiations. However, Liberal Alliance stated “it is hard to understand why a blue party should join a Mette Frederiksen government”. Most likely, Liberal Alliance will also leave the negotiations soon. Also, DF didn’t have any meetings with Mette Frederiksen in the past two weeks.
My opinion is that the new government will be formed from 4 parties: Socialdemokratiet (red), Radikale Venstre (red), Venstre (blue) and Moderaterne (purple). For us as internationals it is important that parties friendly towards us like Radikale Venstre and Moderaterne are part of the government.
The social democrat youth (DSU) has warned Mette Frederiksen that if the government moves too far away from social-democratic values (like they did during Helle Thorning times), they will not hesitate to join the opposition. In a similar manner, the liberal youth (VU) has warned their mother party (Venstre) to not betray the liberal values.
An analysis made by TV2, shows that in the past four years, Socialdemokratiet and Venstre voted the same 82% out of the 1,058 decisions taken in the Danish Parliament.
The blue parties that have already left the negotiations (DD and Nye Borgerlige) are threatening Venstre, that once it leaves the blue block, there is no return. They will not support Jakob Ellemann as prime minister candidate at the next round of parliamentary elections in 2026.
The New Parliament
A new case raises questions about the “crazy immigration rules” that we have in Denmark. After 8 years in Denmark, two Syrian twins risk being deported to Iraq. One is a public employee at Haderslev municipality, while the other one is an entrepreneur. They have never been to Iraq, but they have Iraqi descent and for the authorities that is enough. Politicians from several parties are calling for the strict immigration rules to be changed.
Some municipalities have asked the Ministry of Transport to reduce the speed on the motorway from 130 km/h to 110 km/h. Why? CO2 emissions; Noise pollution and traffic safety. Reducing the speed is just one of their efforts to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% until 2030. Next time you are on the motorway pay attention to the signs!
Danish Economy HQ
1,100 DKK per CO2 tonne of emissions: This is the recommendation given by De Økonomiske Vismænd to the Danish Parliament as to what should be the CO2 tax on agriculture. The political majority in the Parliament already introduced a 750 DKK per CO2 tonne of emissions for the industry.
To calculate the CO2 emissions for each farmer, the experts recommend the New Zeeland model. In any case, this will create the need for a new job or service - climate accountants.
The experts recommend that the taxes collected return to agriculture as a subsidy for green transition, research and development.
Landbrug og Fødevarer, the organization that represents the interests of the farmers say that this tax will “end Danish agriculture”. According to them the prices for Danish-sourced food will increase by 17% and 20,000 to 30,000 people will lose their jobs.
At the moment, it can be quite difficult to calculate the precise CO2 emissions for each farmer, as for example cows don’t emit the same amount of methane.
Agriculture represents 35% of the CO2 emissions in Denmark.
Foreclosures: 2022 has not been the greatest year for our personal finances. Inflation, energy crisis, high interest rates - a dangerous cocktail for our disposable income. However, due to savings from the pandemic years (among other reasons), we managed to cope. If we are looking at the number of foreclosures per month, the situation is still okay among people’s finances (115 in November compared to over 500 per month during the financial crisis). A foreclosure happens when a mortgage loan is not paid and the bank needs to sell the property to recover the money.
Bankruptcies: The situation looks a bit worse for the companies. 345 companies went bankrupt in November. 1,456 people lost their jobs, adding to a total of 12,500 in 2022. The situation is worse than in 2021 when 8,500 jobs were lost. Most hit are the construction and restaurant businesses.
Energy crisis: 1,843,774 households are connected to district heating (66% of all the households). District heating is a transmission system that can be connected to all forms of heat production (waster, wood chips, straw, wind, solar, geothermal, gas, oil, coal, surplus heat from industry, etc.). As each district heating plant uses a different mix of heat sources the price differs between customers depending on where they live. The difference in price can even reach five times between district heating plants. Obs! District heating plants cannot make a profit and need to send back to customers any money surplus.
If you live nearby one of the four largest cities in Denmark and you are connected to a district heating plant that mainly uses waste for heating, you have not felt the energy crisis in terms of your heating bill. 23.4% of district heating is made from waste.
Welders: There is an urgent need for manpower, especially workers that can stand in the trenches and weld the district heating pipes together. Hundreds of thousands of households want to connect to district heating, but unfortunately the contractors do not have the manpower to keep up with the demand. If you want to get a job as a district heating pipe welder, take a 15 days qualification course at TechCollege in Aalborg.
Electric cars: Over 25,000 electric cars have been registered in Denmark this year. 19% of all new cars registered. Together with plug-in hybrids the percentage goes up to 32,6%. However, general car sales have significantly dropped near the level of the 2009 financial crisis.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
“Don’t let others use your phone” says the Danish Police. Unfortunately, young people are being used to launder money without them knowing about it. How? Money muling. A money mule is a person who receives money from a third party in their bank account and transfers it to another one or takes it out in cash and gives it to someone else, obtaining a commission for it.
Healthcare
School from 09.00 o'clock: In some municipalities they are debating, in others they are already experimenting. Students from 7th, 8th and 9th grade should start school later (at 09.00) to fit with their biological internal clock. Why? Young people’s brains change so much during puberty that they are not built to go to bed early and to wake up early. Melatonin, the substance that makes us sleepy, is released in the bloodstream of young people only after 23:00.
New guidelines for COVID: The Danish Health Authority says that you must stay at home if you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, regardless if it is COVID, flu or something else. You should only be tested for COVID if you are in a risk group and you could benefit from early COVID treatment. No isolation is required if you are tested positive for COVID.
New approach towards autism: 2% of the children in Denmark have an autism diagnosis. They have difficulties in communicating and socially interacting with other children. A pilot project aimed at training the parents (instead of the child) has shown positive results.
Climate
The first carbon storage project in Denmark: The Danish Energy Agency gave the green light for the Greensand pilot project. During the 4 months pilot phase, they want to inject 15,000 tonnes of CO2 into the former Nini West oil field in the North Sea.
Culture and religion
Word of the year: “Goblin mode” has been chosen as the word of the year by Oxford University. It represents “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations”. The other two words in the top 3 were “metaverse” and “#IstandWith”.
Sport with Jelimir Vlastici
Aalborg Handball Club lost against unbeaten Barcelona. Backed by their home crowd and assisted by an excellent performance of their keeper, Barcelona managed to secure a comfortable victory, 26-32. After 9 games, Aalborg is fifth with seven points. The first six teams advance to the playoffs.
The International Badminton Federation (BWF) has named Axelsen as the best male badminton player in 2022.
Local news
Aarhus: The municipality will notify cyclists via SMS about the conditions of the cycle paths early in the morning. They hope that more people will choose the bike instead of the car. To provide that information, the municipality will install 40 sensors into the asphalt of six cycle routes.
Aarhus: There will be no price increase for heating in 2023 for the 300,000 customers of Kredsløb Fjernvarme A/S.
Odense: The H.C. Andersen Christmas Market in Odense has been named as one of Europe's ‘Most Charming Christmas Markets’ according to Travel Magazine.
European Union HQ
New rules for import companies: If you import into the European Union market: palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber and rubber as well as derived products, then you need to perform a strict due diligence to ensure they were not produced on land that was subject to deforestation after 31 December 2020.
Coup d'état plot in Germany: 25 members of a far-right terrorist movement have been arrested for planning a military takeover of the power in Germany. The group aimed to reestablish a monarchist government in the tradition of the German Reich. Among the arrested ones you can find a prince from the House of Reuss and a former member of the Parliament from AfD.
France: From the 1st of January 2023, if you are between 18 and 25 years old, you will be able to get free condoms at any pharmacy across France. Why? To stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases which increased by 30% from 2020 to 2021. The government also made the morning after pill free in September this year.
Schengen: The no-border area is expanded from 2023 with one more EU state: Croatia. Romania and Bulgaria also applied to join, but were blocked due to the veto from Austria. The Netherlands also had a veto against Bulgaria. There are 27 countries in the Schengen Area (23 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein).
Announcement Board
Aalborg, 13 December (17.00): Join the open meeting of the United Nations Youth Association of Denmark at the International House North Denmark.
Online, 13 December (14.00): CV and cover letter seminar organized by International House North Denmark. Sign up here.
Online, 13 December (15,00): Linkedin seminar organized by International House North Denmark. Sign up here.
Copenhagen, 14 December (08:30): Join at Københavns Hovedbibliotek and sing your (Christmas) heart out! It's communal morning singing - a cherished tradition in Denmark - and this time, it's not in Danish.
Copenhagen, 14 December (19:00): Salsa and Bachata dance party with live music.
“Sustainability in Denmark (part 2): how to be less wasteful”, written by Susy Pertica
Denmark is a sustainability-minded country. People try to reduce waste and to recycle, not only because it is expected but also because it is right.
It is important to understand how different wastes can produce different forms of recycling. Food waste, for example, becomes energy by incineration. Plastic, cardboard, glass and tin have a new life by recycling them. This is why it is important to sort waste correctly. Each municipality in Denmark sorts waste in a different way. You can search for “affaldssortering” (garbage sorting) for information to help you recycle in your area.
If you are fond of sustainability, which is the other side of the coin of reducing waste, you may already know something about how to recycle your goods in Denmark. First of all there are "flaskeautomat" bottle machines at supermarkets, where you can give back empty bottles and cans for money to use on your next purchase in the store.
There are "genbrugscenter" recycling centres set up by local governments, where people can leave goods they don’t need any longer and other people may pick them up for free. In many cultures it is not appreciated to take and use recycled goods, because it may seem inconvenient or a sign of poverty. Danes, however, are open to recycling things in order not to waste what can still be used.
Second-hand clothes are more sustainable than fast fashion. DBA.dk is a popular website where people can sell and buy items that have already been used. There are charity shops (such as the Røde Kors/Red Cross), flea markets and “loppesupermarked” (flea supermarkets) in every municipality. These are also nice places to find second-hand goods.
So now that waste has been placed in the right bin and the reusable has found a new life, what else can we talk about? For sure, how to be less wasteful in the supermarket and the kitchen. It is good to:
Plan what to eat the next few days, so we can envisage what to buy.
Shop using a “need to buy” list, instead of buying the offers of the moment (which are often sweets, chocolate or chips!).
Buy fruits and vegetables which are not yet packed in trays or wrapped.
Buy refill soap packets, which use less plastic than the bottles with dispensers.
Use reusable bags to hold groceries, instead of buying new plastic bags.
Once at home, we can cook for one or two meals and store the leftover food in reusable containers instead of wrapping paper that can only be used once (or at least use reusable wrapping paper). We can also use reusable napkins instead of kitchen paper that can be used once and thrown away.
Waste is a consequence of society's economic activity. We all buy and use goods, so we all have a part to play in reducing waste. We need imagination to envisage how to reuse things we already have. And should it happen that we won’t use them any longer, for sure someone else will in this beautiful country.