Last Week in Denmark (05.02 - 12.02) Episode 5 Year 3
Earthquake support; The end of smoking; Inflation aid
Editor HQ
As you may know, on February 6, 2023, two devastating earthquakes struck Southeast Turkey. A large number of casualties have been reported, and numbers are expected to rise dramatically. 13.5 million people are impacted, 10 densely populated cities are in ruins, and numerous buildings have been destroyed. Major airports have also partially collapsed. The weather is severe, with some locations experiencing below-freezing temperatures, and due to blocked roads, not enough assistance is reaching the affected areas as quickly as it should. People are in urgent need of food, shelter, and other necessities. Turkey issued a Level 4 alarm and requested international assistance.
Please spread the message to your network and friends, and support by sharing the different donation options. The link below will let anyone make the donation very quickly via card or Mobile Pay.
This page is organized by Turkish Expats in Denmark - The name “Danimarka101” stands for “Denmark101” in Turkish - It is a web guide and community that supports newly relocated Turkish expats.
Danish Politics HQ
New Laws and Regulations
Inflation aid: A majority in the Danish Parliament has reached an agreement regarding the spending of 2.4 billion DKK as support for citizens affected by the inflation.
1.1 billion DKK will go to the 290,000 pensionists that receive “ældrecheck” - 5000 DKK, tax free, for each,in May 2023
300 million DKK for families with children that have a precarious economic situation
100 million DKK for associations that help children coming from poor families
75 million DKK as direct support for energy-intensive food businesses in small cities
Deadline to pay A-skat and AM-bidrag for companies extended from July 2023 (by 3 months and a half) and August 2023 (by 6 months).
If you work in a daycare (dagplejer) your tax deduction (fradrag) will increase from 60% to 68% (for both private and public)
Citizens with high medicine costs will pay less for it.
200 million DKK as support for houses that want to switch from gas boilers to district heating (fjernvarme)
12 million DKK for one tax free payment for SU-handicap receivers and single parents on SU
10 million DKK to help renters threatened with eviction
270 million DKK to reduce noise pollution: The minister of transport has decided to allocate 270 million DKK for six noise shield projects and three pilot projects. The work will be completed in 2025.
Locations: Randers, Kolding, Vojens, Rudersdal, Gentofte and Hvidovre
Pilot project on Viborgvej (Randers) with individual noise isolation for each house
Law proposals and ideas
You should be able to work, while on pension: says a law proposal from the government. They want to give you the possibility to maintain the same amount of pension, while getting a salary on top.
The government expects at least 1050 pensioners to return to work
The law will be implemented from January 2024 with retroactive effect from January 2023
More expensive cigarettes: The minister of health is looking into raising the price for cigarettes to a level that will have an impact on the number of smokers in Denmark. At the moment, 20% of the population smokes while 25% use some sort of nicotine product. To have an impact the price needs to rise from 60 DKK to 100 DKK.
The political arena
The leader of Venstre goes on sick leave: One of the triumvirs of the government, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, also known as the minister of defense, has decided to go on an indefinite sick leave. Why? After one week spent in hospital, he realized that the current workload is too much for his health.
DF vs. Nye Borgerlige: It’s getting personal in the war for the right-wing voters. DF, the OG of the far-right in Denmark has revived and now is going after Nye Borgerlige, the challenger. In the first round, Nye Borgerlige lost 2 members of Parliament (from six elected to four today). They transitioned to DF who went from five elected to seven today. Why? Power. It’s really not about ideology here.
The new leader of Nye Borgerlige: In the fight between the nationalists and the libertarians (strange bedfellows in the same party), the libertarians emerged victorious with one of them becoming the new leader of Nye Borgerlige, Lars Boje Mathiesen:
Former city councilman in Aarhus for Liberal Alliance
He switched to Nye Borgelige in 2016 because Liberal Alliance didn’t give him a candidate seat for the Parliament
Amateur handball player, freelance musician and former primary school teacher
Danish Economy HQ
In Denmark we exported 358 billion DKK more than we imported: That means we sold products and services made in Denmark way more than we bought products and services made elsewhere in 2022. This is a historically large profit for trade in Denmark.
The trade surplus increased demand for Danish Krone (DKK), allowing the National Bank to increase the interest rates at a lower rate compared to the European Central Bank.
The market
The war between Nemlig and 3F is over: Nemlig.com has finally agreed to sign the collective agreement for their drivers. The agreement applies only to drivers hired directly by the company. However, the external contractors will also have to introduce better conditions for their drivers.
Conflict started in 2021 after several stories of poor working conditions for the drivers and warehouse workers at Nemlig.com.
Historically large profit for Mærsk: The shipping company made a profit of 203 billion DKK in 2022. However, they paid only 6 billion DKK in taxes. Why? Shipping companies do not pay corporate tax. They pay instead a tonnage tax based on the size of the fleet.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
The end of free parking at Aalborg Airport: The last airport in Denmark with free parking has decided to introduce a 20 DKK fee for 24 hours from 20th April 2023. The amount is still significantly lower compared to the other airports. Why? More money is needed to further develop the airport.
103 hectares set for the development of the Port of Aarhus: The city council decided to expand the port with 43 hectares in the first stage, followed by another expansion of 40 hectares. The port will increase 50% in size. Lots of jobs will be created in the area.
Visitation zone in Copenhagen: From the 8th of February until the 22nd of February, the police have enforced an area in Nørrebro and North West Copenhagen where they can stop and search any citizen without a warrant. Why? A gang war that resulted in multiple stabbings and a shooting.
2075 companies in Denmark reported hacker attacks: In 2022, the number of companies attacked in Denmark increased by 64% compared to the previous year. The most common attack has been ransomware, where the hackers encrypt the critical data of the company and give it back only after a ransom (a sum of money) is paid. The general IT security in Denmark is not stellar as it ranks 32nd in the world.
80 kg of honey confiscated at Billund Airport: Four travelers from Africa discovered, to their unfortunate loss, that it is illegal to import honey into Denmark from outside the European Union. You can read here the rules about what you can and what you cannot bring from outside the European Union.
Healthcare
Warning: If you currently have or are taking Dicillin Sandoz 500 mg capsules as part of your treatment, you must return them to the pharmacy. If you are undergoing treatment, the pharmacy will supply alternative antibiotics. Why? Some people who took the antibiotic became infected with multi-resistant CPO bacteria.
35,000 people received Dicillin on prescription in the period September to December 2022. If you are one of them, you will be contacted by Statens Serum Institut.
Skin cancer app: An application called “Dermloop” is being used by family doctors (GPs) in Copenhagen Region to detect skin cancer.
The app was tested in the Copenhagen Region until now. Further on, it will be introduced in the South Denmark Region.
Climate
“Pant” for one-time-use coffee cups: The city council of Aarhus decided to introduce a deposit on the to-go coffee cups you get from cafes. You can redeem that deposit by returning the cup.
It is a trial scheme that will run for three years
They want to expand to other takeaway packaging
It is voluntary for cafes to participate in this experiment (so far 25 signed up)
Sports with Jelimir Vlastici
Rune in the semifinals. After helping Denmark win against India last week, Holger Rune qualified to the semifinals at the Open Sud de France tennis tournament in Montpellier.
The award as "Para-athlete of the year 2022" goes to the Danish national team in wheelchair rugby.
European Union HQ
100 old tanks donated to Ukraine: The Danish government decided to send to Ukraine 100 Leopard 1 tanks that were last used during the war in Bosnia(1994).
You will need your ID to be able to access porn websites: Only in France, for now. The government has proposed a law that will require porn websites to require proof from users accessing the website that they are of legal age. How? Not clear yet, as asking for ID would violate privacy laws.
International media about Denmark HQ
Denmark grants first Carbon Storage permits in the North Sea
UN committee faults Denmark for failing to probe 'racist' art exhibit