Last Week in Denmark (10.01 - 16.01) Episode 1 Year 2
Gas and electricity prices! Updates on restrictions; Business free course; House loans
Editor HQ
Happy New Year! “Last Week in Denmark” is back for another season. As promised, we will start rolling out improvements to this media project, and we start with the following developments:
Tweaks to the weekly newsletter - new categories added, older categories rethought - you will notice in the content :) Let us know on our Facebook page or Linkedin if you are happy with the changes.
A messaging channel for time-sensitive information on the Telegram app.
A podcast/live show called “Home in Denmark”. You can see the first episode tonight at 19.00 on our Facebook page. Topic - energy prices.
Call to action: If you are a loyal reader of “Last Week in Denmark” and you care about the direction of this project, you can actually join our internal communication, where you can help us with advice on the different “roadblocks” we will meet ahead. Sign up here.
Public Health HQ
Status: 82,3% of the population has been vaccinated (4.831.751 people). 79,8% of the population received the second vaccine shot (4.686.232 people). 55,1% of the population received the booster shot (3.235.907 people). The region with the highest vaccination rate - North Denmark (84,2%).
Corona infection status: There is an average of 20000 new infected people every day. 755 people are hospitalized. The region with the highest rate of infection is the Capital Region (Copenhagen and suburbs). The region with the lowest rate of infection is South Denmark. The age group with the highest rate of infection is 16 to 19 years old.
Travel Guidelines: The current travel restrictions have been extended until the 31st of January.
People without an address in Denmark (yellow card) need to take a COVID19 test before entering Denmark.
People with an address in Denmark must take a COVID19 test in the first 24 hours in Denmark.
Corona pass validity: From the 16th of January, the corona pass will be valid only 5 months after the second vaccine (for people over 18 years old). When you get the third vaccine, the corona pass becomes valid again (for an undetermined period of time). You can book revaccination here. You also get a corona pass 11 days after a positive PCR test that is valid for 5 months.
Relaxation of restrictions: From today (16th of January), you will be able to experience cultural events in the public space.
You can go to the cinema, the theater and other performance venues (with mask and corona pass).
You can go to museums, aquariums, art galleries and indoor sport events (with mask and corona pass).
You can go to zoos, theme parks and outdoor sports events.
Night clubs, water parks, gaming halls and “forsamlingshus” remain closed until the 31st of January.
Mental health: It is estimated that 580,000 people have a mental illness in Denmark and that 40 to 50% of the entire population will experience at least once a mental disorder. 15% of the people under 18 years old are diagnosed with a mental illness. The Danish Health Agency prepared a series of ambitious goals that should give mental health the same level of attention physical health receives.
If you have birds at home, keep an eye on ornithosis (a bacteria that can be transmitted from birds to humans). A study made by Statens Serum Institut, discovered the bacteria in 10,7% of the sampled pet birds. Ornithosis is an infectious disease.
Danish Politics HQ
Weekly Review: Two topics dominated the discussions on the Danish political scene - the surge in energy prices and the shortage of workers.
The social-democrat government is pressured by the companies and their political supporters (Radikale Venstre, Venstre and Konservative) to make it easier to recruit workers from outside the European Union (reduce the required minimum yearly salary from 445,000 dkk to 360,000 dkk). The labor unions are threatening to break their relationship with the social-democrats if that happens.
Next week, the government will have talks with the other parties regarding the surge in energy prices and how to intervene. A reduction of the electricity tax is on the agenda.
The social-liberals (Radikale Venstre) announced that they will not support a new one-party government after the parliamentary elections (that might happen this year).
There is a struggle in the blue camp between Konservative (Pape) and Venstre (Ellemann) over who should be the prime-minister candidate. For almost 30 years, Venstre has given the blue camp prime-minister candidate.
After the disastrous elections in the local elections, there is a race inside DF for who should lead the party. The favorite is the moderate Messerschmidt (who is currently on trial for fraud). Two of the other candidates want DF to campaign for Denmark to leave the EU. Inger Støjberg, refused to participate in the leadership race, saying that she will stay away from politics for a while (after she has been convicted to prison).
The founder of the Vegan Party (Veganerpartiet) has been excluded from the party, due to behavior issues.
Lars Løkke, the former prime-minister and founder of the Moderate Party (Moderaterne) has announced some of the ideas from the political program. Among them - transform SU into a loan (that you need to pay back) and introduce a 6-months obligatory service for young people where they need to work in the interest of the society (elderly care; nature protection; etc.).
Denmark will place one frigate (160 sailors) and four military aircraft (70 soldiers) in the Baltic Region to reinforce the defense of the Baltic states. Also, Denmark announced that they are against the classification of nuclear energy as green energy.
Equal rights citizen proposal gathers 65,000 signatures and it will be debated in the Danish Parliament. The issue: While a couple of mothers can be registered as parents, a couple of fathers cannot (only one of the fathers can be listed).
Danish Economy HQ
Free course on how to start a business in Denmark: Deadline - TODAY! (Sunday). Take part in four 3-hour online courses taught by Edin Hajder (Plus Consult) and Hans Peter Wolsing (Startinfo). Anyone with a non-Danish background can participate. Topics covered: How to start and operate a business in Denmark; How you develop your own business plan; How to build a website and use search engine optimization; How to make a great pitch. Course language - English.
90,000 people: That is the labour shortage Denmark will experience in 2030. The public sector needs 44,000 people to maintain the same level of welfare. If the growth in the private sector continues on the same level in the next few years, it will need roughly 10,500 people/yearly (newly hired). The local and regional governments are already experiencing recruitment problems (elderly care). Solutions?
Increase productivity in the private sector (automatization).
Retire later.
Outsource to other countries with more available workforce (f.ex. Renting prison in Kosovo).
More labour supply - attract people from other countries.
3,1%: Life has become more expensive in Denmark in 2021. With 3,1% to be more specific. Doesn’t sound like much? Well, for an average family with children it equals 14,100 dkk more in day-to-day expenses. Unfortunately, that trend will continue into 2022. The USA is one of the main trading partners of Denmark and the prices there have increased 7% and keep going higher. That will also affect us.
If you have a house loan, especially with variable interest, it is time to talk with a financial advisor from your bank. The days with very low-interest rates are numbered, as the European Central Bank and the Danish National Bank are struggling to maintain them.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Updates from the Danish Royal House: Queen Margrethe celebrated on 14th January, 50 years on the throne of Denmark. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, most celebrations have been moved to the late summer. The Danish National Bank issued a commemorative coin to mark this occasion (a 500 kr silver coin and a 20 kr circulation coin).
Updates on healthcare science: The first successful heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig to human. This should solve the current organ shortage. 17 people in Denmark are waiting for a new heart.
In other news, Novo Nordisk Foundation will invest 25 million dkk into a research project meant to make progress on the topic of helping pregnant women with diabetes. Every year, 400 women with diabetes get pregnant and they risk pregnancy poisoning, premature birth, obese babies, malformations or death.
Updates on climate change: DMI (Danish Meteorological Institute) launched a “Klimaatlas”, a tool for municipalities and citizens to see how they will be impacted by the climate changes in the next years. What to expect: more winter rains; stronger “cloudbursts”; higher water level; higher temperatures; more dry days in the summer; higher chance for storms.
Also, New York Times included Thisted Municipality (North Denmark) in the list of 52 places to visit in 2022. Why? The area of Thy is the “epicentre for wind energy” - you can learn more about wind turbines and renewable initiatives at Test Centre Østerild; you can surf in Cold Hawaii; see the dunes from Thy National Park; etc.
Updates on fake news: Fake flyers about vaccination circulate around Aarhus and Aalborg. Check your mailbox to see if you got one. Although they look almost the same as the official flyers, they use a different colour for the background (yellow).
Updates on education: Aalborg University announced that they will close admission to 18 programs, mostly from the Copenhagen campus. This is a consequence of the new law that forces universities to reduce by 10% the number of places in the four big cities. 768 fewer students from 2023.
AAU Hjørring gets - one master program moved from Aalborg (Public Health Science); one bachelor program moved (Social Worker); a new education for dentists.
AAU Esbjerg gets - one master program moved from Aalborg (Roads and Traffic).
AAU Copenhagen loses all the social science and humanities programs, plus a few from engineering. The Copenhagen campus will further be focused on sustainability and IT.
Updates from the police: A reminder from the police that it is illegal to photo or film traffic accidents. You risk a fine or even prison if you share the content online.
European Union HQ
In the spring of 2022, the European Parliament will negotiate with the European Union states new legislation on creating a safer online space for users called the “Digital Services Act”. The coordinator of this new law, Danish MEP Christel Schaldemose stated that “we are building a new framework, so that what is illegal offline is also illegal online”.
The Young Entrepreneurs Challenge: Young people (16 to 25) are invited to submit a 60-second pitch video with a fresh and innovative technology-led business idea. Prize? 10.000 euro grant and a ticket to Global One Young World 2022 Tokyo Summit in Japan. Deadline 22 January.
Internships at the European Commission: If you have a bachelor degree (at least) and speak English, French or German, you can apply for a 5-months paid internship at the European Commission, the famous “blue book”. Deadline 31st January.
World’s story of the week
Unrest in Kazakhstan
The surge in price for gas has sparked a revolution in the central-Asian former soviet republic. A short-lived revolution that has been quashed in just nine days by the authoritarian leader Tokayev with support from CSTO (A Russian-led military alliance). However, this is neither the first nor the last outburst from the population side. There is strong opposition to the current leadership that is taking advantage of every situation to promote their democratic agenda (end the rule of Tokayev and Nazarbayev; direct elections for local leaders). Unfortunately, the mortality rate among the opposition leaders is very high.
An oil-producing country (that also holds 40% of all uranium in the world), Kazakhstan is rich. Despite that, 162 Kazakhs hold 55% of all the wealth, keeping the rest of the population on a minimum wage under 90 euros per month. Unfortunately for the unhappy citizens, Kazakhstan also has a strategic value for both Russia and China (it connects Europe and Asia by road, rail and the port on the Caspian Sea). It is in the interest of both Russia and China, to maintain Kazakhstan as a dictatorship.
Kazakhstan is part of the Chinese-led SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and the Russian-led CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organisation) and Euroasian Economic Union. This means that both China and Russia can intervene with “peacekeeping” troops to maintain the regime. This already happened on the 7th of January, when CSTO troops intervened against the protesters. After Tokayev gave the order to “shoot to kill” and called the protests as “foreign engineered”, 168 people got killed and 9000 arrested. According to Tokayev, the revolution is over. According to the people of Kazakhstan, we will see another episode.
First, it was Belarus, now Kazakhstan. Will Russia be next?
Focus on your daily life
In focus: Gas and electricity prices
In 2022, you will pay more for products, as it has become more expensive to produce them. Rising energy prices are forcing businesses to pass the bill further to the customers. Of course, rising energy prices also mean higher utility bills for you.
Electricity bill: Average price is expected to be 90 øre/kWh, compared to 36 øre/kWh at the beginning of 2021. This means an average increase of 30% for a house with 4000 kWh/year (the math doesn’t add up because actual energy consumption represents only 25% of the electricity bill – the rest is transport, taxes and VAT). If you don’t have a fixed contract (fast pris), you are likely to see some “wild” increases in your energy bill.
Heat bill: If you warm up your house with a natural gas boiler you can expect to spend at least 4800 dkk more. If you have an electric heat pump, you can expect to spend 1780 dkk more. If you are connected to the district heating company, then check their website to see the price predictions for 2022.
Why?
The energy demand in the world is very high (the world economy is booming), which led to a competition between Europe and Asia for energy resources. At the moment, China and India are willing to pay more than Europe. Also, the cost of polluting and emitting CO2 in Europe has increased 10 times since 2017.
What about our resources?
In the European Union, we are transitioning towards 100% renewable energy. At the same time, we are reducing the production of coal and natural gas, while we close down nuclear plants. Unfortunately, we had a summer with less rain and wind than usual. This means less energy produced from wind turbines and hydropower plants (water reservoirs). This also means, reliance on imported natural gas.
Unfortunately, the European gas suppliers failed to replenish stocks after the cold spring of 2021. Moreover, ~40% of the imported gas comes from Russia. Now Russia is using this situation for geopolitical reasons (approval of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline; intervention in the Ukraine border crisis; etc.) and is sending less gas than usual through the existing pipelines. Russia’s agenda is to turn the European population against the transition towards renewable energy by making us experience a very cold winter.
The current situation can be called “a perfect storm” on the energy market and it is the result of failed energy and storage policies that made us very dependent on gas imports. Our only way out is to accomplish what we already started – the transition towards 100% renewable energy.
How to survive the price surge?
Check your electricity contract – if it is a “fast pris” or a “variabel pris”; if you don’t want to risk, choose a “fast pris” contract.
Call your electricity company to see if you can switch to a “fast pris”, see what price they offer you. Go to elpris and see what others are offering. In Denmark, it is free, very easy and fast to switch energy providers. After six months you are free to switch providers.
If you plan to switch, be aware of “Introduktionspris” – check for how long is that price valid and what price is afterwards. Also, changing now to a “fast pris” might be a bit more expensive than usual, as many people on “variabel pris” are moving.
Also, consider reducing energy use this winter. Take down the thermostat one degree at least; one less use of the washing machine a week; wash at lower temperatures – 20-30 degrees; Keep 5 degrees in the fridge and -18 degrees in the freezer; Use the tv less; etc.
Read about improving the energy efficiency of your house. Using less energy to heat the house might be the solution for many years to come.
If you planned to invest in a heat pump or an electric car, don’t give up. The price of natural gas has risen twice compared to electricity, in the last year. At the moment, there is just too little supply of cheap green electricity.
Join Denmark
If you are connected to district heating (fjernvarme) and water (vandværk), you should keep an eye on the yearly general assembly (generalforsamling). As a user, you can vote and candidate for the leadership (bestyrelsen). Also, at the general assembly, you can discuss the price and what happens with the common resources, among other things.
You can check the website of your district heating/water company (check your latest bill if you don’t know the name) - scroll down the latest news until you find one related to the general assembly - or you can just call to ask when the next one is. If you’re wondering if it’s important to have a say over how your district heating is run, just take a look at the current situation. 200,000 houses connected to district heating will experience massive increases in price, while 1.6 million houses also connected will not. Why? Because some district heating companies have chosen to run only on gas or electricity.
P.S - If you are already part of such a board or know an international who is, please reply to this mail with the contact. We would love to profile you or them :)
Stories from our community
The Olympic athlete Thijs Nijhuis (born 1992 in the Netherlands) has set the second-fastest Danish record in the 10km marathon. He is part of Viborg Athletic Club and already holds the Danish record for most distance covered in one hour (19,872 m) (a 49-year old record which he surpassed in 2020).
Tip us with other stories from our international community in Denmark by replying to this mail. Do you know other internationals that have done amazing things in Denmark?