Last Week in Denmark (15.01-21.01) Episode 1 Year 4
A new era; End of adoptions; Fertility Aid
Editor HQ
State of Denmark
“Forbundne, forpligtet, for kongeriget Danmark” (connected and committed to the Kingdom of Denmark) = the “valgsprog” of King Frederik X
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2024! We started the new year with a royal surprise: the voluntary abdication of Queen Margrethe II, a first in modern Danish history. This led to the succession of King Frederik X to the throne of Denmark last Sunday, January 14 (there is no coronation ceremony). With the ascension of Queen Mary, the world's first Australian-born queen, it’s clear that nothing is impossible for internationals living in Denmark.
Since Sunday, Denmark has experienced royalist mania. In the past, being a royalist represented a political choice, while today it’s just a manifestation of Danish identity. The Royal House has become a symbol of Danish culture. No wonder that tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Copenhagen to witness the succession, or that the king’s manifesto, “Kongeord,” has sold 25 books per minute since its launch.
While we celebrate the new era, the Ølst village (Randers) risks disappearing from the map as a landslide of 3 million cubic meters of contaminated soil moves slowly (30-40 cm per hour) towards them. The company responsible, Nordic Waste, filed for bankruptcy. The state has allocated 205 million DKK to stop the environmental disaster.
Thank you for reading Last Week in Denmark!
P.S. Remove ice and snow from your car’s windows! You risk losing your license otherwise!
Word of the Week
“Valgsprog” = the chosen words of the monarch that illustrate the main values they want for the country. In the past, the king’s words were used on coins (in Latin). In business terms, you can see it as a mission statement.
Quiz
Resource of the week
If you want to share a valuable resource (book, movie, website, location, podcast, etc.) for your fellow internationals, please write to us at lastweekdk@gmail.com
On this occasion, we also want to welcome the Italian version of the newsletter. You can subscribe here. The team is led by Martino Torrone and Chiara Marmugi and they still have open positions - lastweekindenmarkit@gmail.com
Danish Politics HQ
Weekly overview
The Social Democrats are embracing royalism after they decided to end a 100-year old tradition of refusing royal orders and medals. Moving forward, it will be up to each party member to decide whether to accept or not.
The Culture Ministry sent an official application to UNESCO to include Møns Klint on the World Heritage List. One reason is its importance to research, as it provides insights into the last ice age.
The government started a dialogue with India and the Philippines regarding education and recruitment of healthcare staff (nurses and social/health assistants). One potential model is to establish Danish health schools in these countries.
The government will soon announce the elderly reform. Already, some measures have been presented, like giving a salary to social/health assistants (SOSU) during education (if they are over 25 years old) to attract more people, and reducing the time SOSU spends on supervision so they can focus on core tasks.
Focus
One far-right party less in Denmark: After returning from the holidays, Pernille Vermund decided to close the doors at Nye Borgerlige (libertarian nationalist). Why? There are too many similar parties in Parliament. However, to dissolve the party, two extraordinary general assemblies must be held, where more than 66% of those present need to vote for it, and already some members are planning to stop the plans.
Pernille, a former member of Konservative, founded Nye Borgerlige in 2015. The party entered Parliament in 2019 with four mandates (2.4% of the votes). At the last elections in 2022, they obtained six mandates (3.7%).
The leading candidate for EU Parliament, Martin Henriksen, is planning to run for party leadership. He also ran for DF leadership in the past (left the party after he lost). He now works as a security guard and is elected as councilman in Stevns municipality.
A week after she announced the dissolution of the party, Pernille joined Liberal Alliance. It seems that her strong views on immigration and the EU have softened (“Muslims are welcome if they want to work in Denmark”), and she will follow a more liberal approach moving forward.
All adoptions from abroad are stopped: If you want to adopt a child from abroad, this can only be done through DIA (Danish International Adoption), an independent adoption agency accredited by the Ministry of Social Affairs. After sanctions, the organization stopped the service. Why sanctions? Several scandals raised suspicions that the adoptions were not taking place according to the rules. The Ministry of Social Affairs cannot come up with a timeline for when the adoptions could be resumed.
There are 37 families on the waiting list for international adoption. Also, 57 families have an active case open (they have already been matched with a child). Ankestyrelsen (Danish Appeals Board) will take over their cases and decide case-by-case, if the adoption moves forward.
Danish Economics HQ
More money for the Royal House: Yearly, the Royal House receives 124 million DKK from the state budget. As happened the last time we had a change on the royal throne (1972), the yearly amount is up for discussion. The government says that they plan to give more money to the Royal House and take over the cost of maintenance on several buildings used by the royals.
Fertility aid for the second child: In her New Year’s speech, the Prime Minister announced that families who want a second child and have difficulties procreating can apply for fertility treatment aid. The law has not been passed yet, but there is a clear majority for it, so it’s only a matter of time. One in eight children in Denmark is born thanks to fertility treatment.
Electric car market price war: The best-selling car brand in Denmark, Tesla, reduced the price once again for all versions of the model Y car (-30,000 DKK for Y, -40,000 DKK for Y Long Range, and -80,000 DKK for Y Performance). Why? Overproduction. They lower the prices to stimulate demand. At the same time, they are forcing their competitors to also drop prices, making electric cars more affordable. While this is good news for new car buyers, it’s not looking great for those who want to sell..
70 billion DKK from tourism in Denmark: We are a hot destination in the Nordic part of Europe. For every 100 tourists that come to Northern Europe, 50 visit Denmark. 63% of tourists are from Germany. The goal is to increase the yearly income from tourism to 190 billion DKK by 2030.
250,000 people work in the tourism industry in Denmark. Generally, it is difficult for the tourism companies to fill empty positions, and that makes it hard to scale.
The most popular attraction in Denmark is Tivoli, with 3.8 million annual visitors.
Entrepreneur’s corner
One of our former interns, Ines, has recommended a start-up company called ClimaNeed, which is a social media platform that rewards your time spent there with planted trees.
If you are an artist (writer, musician, architect, painter, movie director, etc.) looking for funding, you should get acquainted with the Statens Kunstfond.
Business Economics for Entrepreneurs course: Aalborg Institute for Development, together with Iværksætterdanmark, will organize another edition of the free course in Business Economics for Entrepreneurs in March 2024. Decide here when the workshops should be organized.
50,000 DKK voucher to support digitalization in your company: If you have a minimum of two full-time employees, you can apply for a voucher that you can use for cybersecurity, online marketing and sales, websites, and other digitalization needs. When? 29th January. If you need support, write to info@aalborgid.com
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Next week in Denmark
After a month of drinking snaps, hosting Julefrokost, and attending other Christmas celebrations, the new year brought calm and peace for Danes. They’ve now retreated into their homes for some weeks of social hibernation. Some of them describe this period as the strongest hit of the winter depression. For others, it’s time for Hvid Januar, or White January - a month of alcohol abstinence that aims to heal the body from the toll of December. While neighboring Sweden registers its lowest January temperature in 25 years (-43.5°C) and people fight the snow by skiing to work in the Norwegian capital, Denmark hasn’t been spared from the current cold wave. But the increasingly longer days start to encourage coffee dates and small gatherings at home.
If anything, fastelavnsboller is the one thing that motivates Danes to come out of hiding this week. This iconic pastry is inspired by Fastelavn, a carnival tradition celebrated by Danish children every year, seven weeks before Easter Sunday. Although Fastelaven doesn’t happen for several weeks yet, bakeries around the nation have already started displaying all forms of fastelavnsboller. Its most typical form, eaten in the Nordics, is a sweet, doughy bun with a soft custard filling and chocolate topping. However, the traditional version in Denmark is made of weinerbrød and has whipped cream as the star ingredient, often adding some jam or icing as well. The specialty will be available for you to try until Sunday, February 11. You can find variations of it in most bakeries in the country.
Explainer
The Danish monarchy: One of the oldest royal houses in the world (more than a thousand years old). Constitutional (the role of the monarch is defined and limited by the Constitution, “Grundloven”) since 1849. Today, it has mostly a ceremonial role as head of state for Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
The monarch presides over the Council of State and gives royal assent to laws.
The monarch hosts official visits by Heads of State, pays state visits abroad, receives letters of credence from ambassadors, and signs those of Danish ambassadors.
After the parliamentary elections, the monarch invites the party leader with the largest number of seats in Parliament to form the government. Once it has been formed, the monarch formally approves it.
Gives the “New Year’s Address” on December 31 at 6:00 p.m. It is a tradition in Denmark to see the royal address while sitting at the New Year’s Eve table.
Awards the “Order of the Elephant” (highest-ranked honor in Denmark) and the “Order of the Dannebrog” (a means of honoring meritorious civil or military service, for a particular contribution to the arts, sciences, or business life, or for working for Danish interests).
Elevates commoners to nobility. There are about 200 families who belong to the Danish nobility at present.
The current royal house is part of the House of Glücksburg (originally from Schleswig-Holstein) which is a collateral branch of the House of Oldenburg.
Weekly overview
61% of Danes want alcohol to be sold only to those over the age of 18. In a recent opinion poll carried out for DR, 30% still believed there should not be a limit, and 9% said they do not know, while the majority want the present age limit to be raised. Currently, anyone above the age of 16 is legally allowed to purchase beer and other alcoholic drinks with an alcohol content of up to 16.4%.
Tired of waiting for the bus that is never on time? Perhaps carpooling might be the way. Nabogo is a Danish carpooling platform that partners with municipalities and transport companies, offering drivers 10 DKK and passengers a free ride if their journey is under 10km. If it exceeds 10km, drivers are allowed to ask for payment from their passengers. Growing in popularity, especially in rural areas, the app has partnered with almost 30 municipalities across Denmark.
Residents of Region Zealand can now actively participate in shaping regional policies, thanks to the region’s citizen proposal scheme - becoming the first region in Denmark to introduce the scheme. Under this initiative, citizens above the age of 18 can submit political proposals to the regional council, with the condition that the proposal garners support from 5,000 fellow residents to be considered. The regional council, responsible for critical decisions on healthcare, climate, business, and education, aims to strengthen citizen involvement in the decision-making process. To facilitate this, a dedicated platform on the region's website is being established for easy proposal submissions.
You can now “pant” or recycle your coffee cups too, as long as you’re in Aarhus. The first municipality in Denmark to implement the system, DR reported that there are 20 new machines around the city center that will accept your to-go coffee cups. But, when purchasing your takeaway packaging, you will need to opt for the packaging that costs an extra 5 DKK, and upon recycling these items at one of the machines, the 5 DKK will be refunded to you.
Newborn babies will now be screened for 25 severe and rare congenital diseases, the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) announced. From January 15, blood samples taken via a heel prick will be tested for, among others, a rare metabolic disease known as galactosemia, where the body is unable to break down galactose (one of the two sugars that make up lactose). In Denmark, blood samples are taken from newborn babies between 48 and 72 hours after birth. For the full list of diseases, visit here.
Internationals in Danish media
Young people from Spain on the way to Lolland-Falster (Business Lolland-Falster)
The Danish language education system binds newcomers to low-paid jobs (Debat, Information)
European Union HQ
Weekly overview
This week, leaders, business titans, philanthropists, and celebs meet in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum. On the agenda, among others, are AI, climate and nature, cybersecurity, energy transition, health, and digital inclusion. From the Davos guest list, Politico has shortlisted the “dirty dozen,” as well as the Davos “do-gooders,” along with their agendas and priorities for 2024.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that 2023 marked the Earth's warmest year on record, surpassing the previous peak in 2016. This jeopardizes the Paris Agreement's target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The world briefly approached 1.48°C last year, with temperatures expected to rise further in 2024.
As of March 31, air and sea passengers traveling between Bulgaria or Romania and any Schengen member country will no longer be required to undergo border controls. Discussions to remove checks at land borders will continue this year. More from the European Parliament: An end to greenwashing and better information on a product’s impact on the environment, longevity, reparability, composition, production, and usage for customers.
Since the start of the new year, farmers in Germany have been protesting over planned subsidy cuts. Similarly, truckers and farmers from Romania and Poland are protesting the high prices of gasoline. Protests on the EU's eastern border over unfair competition, as described by truck drivers, have led to blockades at different crossing points along the border with Ukraine.
Rights
Right to a basic bank account: If you are a resident in the European Union, you can open a basic bank account in any EU member state, as long as you have a good reason for it. For example, you can have a bank account in the country where you live but also in the country where you work. If you are refused a basic bank account in Denmark, you can complain to FIN-NET (Danish Financial Complaint Board).
Opportunities
Learn, discover, and travel with the European Union: If you are a member of an organization/association (like AMIS - A More Inclusive Society, for example), you can participate in training courses, seminars, study visits, and other similar events around the European Union. There is no participation fee, and the food and lodging are covered. Travel costs are also covered up to a certain point. Check out the calendar of opportunities here.
This applies to all residents of Denmark, regardless of being EU or non-EU.
Win an Interrail ticket and other prizes: Answer the question, “If you were the President of the European Parliament, what would you do for young people?” in a 60 second maximum video and share it on TikTok or Instagram as a reel with the hashtag “#YourVoteYourDecision” and tag @Eurodesk. Deadline? January 31. Who? Age group 16 to 30 years old. Read more.
Win a trip to London: Create a piece of work of your choice – a photo, video, podcast, article, installation, painting etc. – which creatively expresses the concept of “Togetherness” between youth in the UK and the EU. The winners of the competition will be invited to the final event in London in November 2024. Read more. Deadline? February 10. Who? Age group 18 to 30 years old.
Announcement Board
Copenhagen, 25th Jan, 17.00–20.00: Food for Thought with Lise Walbom – A storytelling session on “Collaboration as a Key to a Sustainable Future,” followed by community dinner. Click here for tickets.
Aarhus, 25th Jan, 17.00: Newcomers’ Info Evening – New in town? Do you want to find practical information about life in Aarhus and Denmark? Sign up here.
Odense, 25th Jan, 10.00–11.30: Spouse Café at Kunstmuseum Brandts – Museum tour for international accompanying partners. Spots are limited. Sign up here.
Aarhus, 26th Jan, 10.00–12.00: Coffee Morning – Meet new people, ask questions to speakers. Sign up or simply drop-in!
Online, 30th Jan, 14.00–15.45: Job Search Seminar – Are you new to job searching in Denmark? Register here and learn the basics of job searching in Denmark.
International media about Denmark HQ
Denmark’s King Frederik X takes throne after Margrethe abdicates (The Guardian)
Queen Margrethe of Denmark Officially Abdicates, Making her son King Frederik (People)
Last Week in Denmark’s Universe
Read long-form articles on our website: How to learn Danish; Danish Business Culture; How to invest in Denmark; Guides for non-Europeans - I and II; How to negotiate your salary; Giving birth in Denmark - I and II; Pension in Denmark - I and II; Translator in Denmark and many other untold stories from the community.
Read the newsletter in another language: Romanian, Polish, Spanish, and Italian.
Check out our cool merchandise (top quality): Moving forward; Searching for home; Vasil; Irina; Kifaax; Monika
Join us on social media for exclusive content: Facebook, Linkedin
News from the volunteer team: We received 57 applications for the open positions in our team. Thank you for the desire to get involved. Our administration team will get in contact with you soon.