Last Week in Denmark (17.03-24.03) Episode 10 Year 4
Health inequality; Nuclear power; More school autonomy
Editor HQ
State of Denmark
“The risk of dying before turning 75 is, for example, six times higher in Rødbyhavn on Lolland than in Gentofte, north of Copenhagen” Aarhus University researchers
A map published by Aarhus University on the risk of premature death reignited the debate on health inequality in Denmark. Unfortunately, the place you have chosen to call home can have a distorted impact on your lifespan. Check your situation here. One of the factors that can impact your lifespan is income. If you have a higher income, you can expect to live 10 years longer than someone with lower income.
One way to reduce health inequality is to provide differentiated public funding for health services. The areas with a high risk of premature death should receive extra medical support, meaning more money for doctors and health staff. A GP (general practitioner / family doctor) receives 155 DKK per consultation, regardless if it’s 10-15 minutes or one hour. The idea is to give higher amounts per consultation depending on the time spent and the area serviced.
Another way is to take inspiration from Norway and introduce a similar public health act. The Norwegian Public Health Act obliges the municipalities to create a detailed health overview of the population every other year and, based on the overview, create an action plan on how to improve the situation. In Norwegian municipalities, you can find public health coordinators whose only objective is to improve population health. Several political parties in Denmark (SF, Alternativet, Radikale Venstre, Enhedslisten) are ready to support a similar law, while DF is against the idea.
On a more positive note, the Easter break is coming, and you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to treat yourself. Travel, relax, start gardening, give more attention to a forgotten hobby, meet some old friends or make new ones, and read that book that keeps waiting on your nightstand. We plan to do the same, which means that the next newsletter will be published on April 7.
For our audience in Copenhagen and surroundings, we invite you to two amazing events immediately after the break. First, on April 4, a debate in English about freedom of movement, followed by a brunch event on April 6 (free brunch; limited spots). We will continue our series of brunch events in other cities in April and May.
Thank you for reading Last Week in Denmark!
Word of the Week
Rådmand = Alderman. The political leader of a department in the larger municipalities. For example, Aalborg Municipality has six aldermen. The mayor and the aldermen are the only full-time politicians in local politics. Just like the mayor, the aldermen positions are given to elected council members via political negotiations between the parties.
Quiz
Danish Politics HQ
Weekly political overview
The government lost its domestic majority in Parliament after a parliamentary member of Venstre (Liberals) switched to DD (Populists Nationalists). This means that the government parties cannot pass legislation without support from the Greenlandic and Faroese members of Parliament. However, so far, all the legislation has been passed with opposition support.
The Ministry of Justice announced a trial scheme where “reverse anklets” are used to protect victims of violence. The scheme is inspired by Norway. The anklet alerts the police when the perpetrator gets too close to the victim's residence, rather than when they leave their home.
We have fewer children in Denmark compared to previous years, and that has triggered a serious debate this week. Moderaterne (Social Liberals) and DF (Conservative Nationalists) call upon the population to have more children. DF even proposed a 180,000 DKK annual tax deduction if you have three children or more. Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats) supports a fertility treatment guarantee for the involuntarily childless.
Another debate taking up space at the dinner tables in Denmark is about mandatory female conscription. As mentioned last week, Liberal Alliance (Libertarians) and DD (Populists Nationalists) want to block the proposal, arguing that almost no volunteer female conscripts stay in the army after military training. However, new figures from the Ministry of Defense show that 20% of female conscripts stay in the Army after training.
Among the quirky proposals of the week in Parliament, one from Inger Støjberg, leader of DD, stands out. She proposed that Danish citizenship should be conditioned by signing a declaration in which you recognize Israel's right to exist.
Focus
Public school reform: Three keywords define the 33 initiatives of public school reform - freedom, immersion, and quality. Public schools obtained greater autonomy (for example, they can decide if they want shorter school days, how to use the extra teaching hours, whether to have two teachers in the classroom, if they don’t want to issue grades until 6th grade, etc.) and more freedom regarding curriculum. This is because the number of binding targets (measurable expectations of the students’ development) has been reduced from 4,000 to 215. In addition, schools will receive:
500 million DKK for extra support for the 10% of students challenged in Danish and/or mathematics.
540 million DKK for school manuals, as there will be a severe rollback on the usage of screens.
2.6 billion DKK for better classrooms that encourage play and movement.
Fewer exams (from eight to six).
Every student will have to go through five days of compulsory work practice.
Technology understanding is integrated into every school subject.
Debate on nuclear power in Denmark: World leaders have gathered in Brussels this week to discuss how they can triple the energy produced via nuclear power. Sweden, Finland, Poland, and France are among the EU member states that committed to this goal after the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. Meanwhile, in Denmark, the political class is split.
55% of people in Denmark support the use of nuclear power.
Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats) prefer Denmark to focus on solar and wind power, as that is our specialization.
DF (Conservative Nationalists) and Liberal Alliance (Libertarians) are pro-nuclear power and want it introduced as soon as possible.
Radikale Venstre (Social Liberals) and Venstre (Liberals) admit that nuclear power is necessary but say it will take too long for Denmark to adopt it (15-17 years), so we should focus on solar and wind.
Danish Economics HQ
Negative consumer confidence in the economy: Consumers believe that Denmark’s and their family’s economic situation is worse today than a year ago. At the same time, they believe that the alleged economic decline will continue in the following years. As a consequence, they have held off on buying large consumer goods.
Domestic material consumption per capita has increased 14% since 2013: Domestic material consumption (DMC) refers to the amount of materials (in terms of weight) used in an economy, i.e. materials extracted or harvested in the country, plus materials and products imported, minus material and products exported. The continued increase in the consumption of materials is a negative indicator for the UN's global goals for sustainable development.
Lower food prices are expected in the next three months, according to half of all food companies in Denmark. Food prices have already fallen by 3.6% on average compared to summer 2023 peak prices. However, they are still 20% more expensive than two years ago.
People in Denmark are massively buying shares in defense industry companies: Oil, tobacco and weapons have long been considered as “sector non-grata” for private and public investments. However, the weapons industry is slowly shedding its bad reputation. Saxo Bank, Nordea and Jyske Bank declared that the number of their customers who want to buy defense industry shares has more than doubled in the past year.
At Danske Bank, Rheinmetall is the second most traded foreign share and on par with the American tech giant Microsoft.
It might be a bit too late to join the party, as the defense industry share prices have already increased significantly.
226 reports of unauthorized work in 2023: The Danish Safety Agency (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) encourages people to check if the craftsman deployed by a company has authorization to do electrical, plumbing, sewer or gas work. You can check here, as it is your responsibility to ensure they have authorization. You can report unauthorized work here.
Entrepreneur’s corner
Opportunity for small and medium business owners and leaders: DANITACOM (The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Denmark) invites you to join a free training session in Rotterdam (Netherlands) on April 8-12. Travel and accommodation are covered. Sign up here, as soon as possible.
AMIS is looking for an event photographer for April 6 (10:00 a.m.) in Copenhagen. Budget - 1,000 DKK. If interested, contact Pauline at amis.aalborg@gmail.com
Aalborg Institute for Development is looking for a street food vendor and a cafe owner that would like to share their experiences in a project for Ukrainian refugees. If interested, email info@aalborgid.com
AMIS is looking for a one-month trainee (virksomhedpraktik) from April 8. The main task will be to organize a large event on May 9 (Europe Day) in Aalborg. If interested, email amis.aalborg@gmail.com
We are also looking for a one-month trainee (virksomhedpraktik) from April 8. The main requirement is that the trainee can speak Polish, as the task will be to support the Polish-language edition of this newsletter. If interested, email lastweekdk@gmail.com
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Insights into the Danish way of life
Happy almost Easter! Although the celebration will be taking place on Sunday, March 31, Denmark will enjoy an extended weekend from Thursday to Monday.
If you’re into art and crafts, it’s the perfect time to pull out some scissors and dive into Danish traditions. Give a try to making a gækkebrev – or “snowdrop letter”! You start by folding a piece of paper and cutting elaborate shapes out of it. Then, write a small poem in the center and sign anonymously, with the number of dots that correspond to the amount of letters in your name. Your friends and family will have to guess who it’s from, and if they succeed, you owe them an egg.
Danes are big fans of long holiday meals, and this is no exception. On Easter Sunday, families and friends gather around the table for a full afternoon of Påskefrokost – or Easter lunch – characterized by the typical rye bread and toppings. Some of the favorites are boiled eggs, fried fish, herring, liver paté, lamb and an infinite variety of cheese. Of course, there is also Påskebryg, the Easter beer. You will recognize the cans at the supermarket, as they are decorated with chicks and other festive drawings.
Last week, we mentioned that winter aconites are blossoming all over. Another big flower this month is the daffodil, or påskelilje, which translates to “Easter lily”. Although nowadays a big part of the population leads a secular life, Easter remains a big event for Danes regardless of their religion. The holiday works as a ritual of passage: the end of winter, the beginning of spring. This is why most of the decorations are related to the season, and stores are filled with shades of yellow, mint green and pastel pink. We wish you a pleasant couple of days filled with rest, fun and hopefully plenty of sunshine. Skål!
Explainer
Local politics vs. national politics: Less than two years from now, we will have local and regional elections in Denmark. We often write in this newsletter about different political parties and their actions on the national stage, and probably that has influenced in one way or another your opinion about them. Could you perceive a political party in your municipality through the national politics lens? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. While national politics is heavily about policies, local politics is about people.
Therefore, it’s very possible that on the national level you like a political party because of their policies towards internationals, while on the local level you like another party because you personally know one of their politicians, or because they fixed the light on your street. Motivations can be very different. In the end, you can vote for the person, and not necessarily the party that you want to represent your interests in the local council.
Is your bus late in the morning? Does the street that leads to your house have potholes in it? Do they forget to pick up the trash every now and then? Has your neighbor sold their property to a big developer who is building a very tall building next to yours, basically robbing you of the view? Is it too cold in the classrooms? Do you feel like there’s not enough support for international entrepreneurs? These are just some examples of situations when you would like to reach out to a city council member (who you voted for) to do something about it. Would the political color matter? Her or his influence in the council will likely matter more. Local is more about day-to-day life and less about ideology (with exceptions, of course).
That’s why you can have local politicians who openly criticize national politicians from the same political party. The concept of autonomy, which is widespread in many areas of life in Denmark, is also present in politics. Unfortunately, the same political party can often be wildly different depending on the municipality or region of Denmark. Please consider that before you paint everyone from the same party with the same brush.
Weekly overview
Denmark once again takes second place as the world’s happiest country. The World Happiness Report, published by the UN in collaboration with Gallup and Oxford University, annually surveys people to rank the level of satisfaction of their lives. This year, it again places Denmark second and Finland number one. While in the past, the happiness levels were highest among young people, recent trends show a decline in this pattern. Several factors contribute to this, including loneliness, social media, climate change, economics. The happiness level among the elderly, on the other hand, has increased.
Two most prestigious gastronomy awards go to one restaurant, Treetop in Vejle. For the first time, representatives from the same restaurant brought home titles of Chef of the Year and Waiter of the Year, in a distinguished culinary competition. The restaurant itself is a culinary gem in the middle of the Munkebjerg Forest.
Another culinary extravaganza! Denmark wins the European Chef's Championship in the European edition of the Bocuse d'Or cooking competition, beating home favorites Norway (which came in 3rd place after Sweden). The chefs have worked with reindeer, Norwegian aquavit, Norwegian codfish, scallops and dried fish.
Viking gardening tips: According to the “Wildly natural” podcast from DR, we can get inspired by the Viking kitchen gardens if we don’t have a lot of time on our hands to be gardeners. Consider planting low-maintenance veggies like peas, sorrel, kale, shallots and turnips.
New AI supercomputer is coming to Denmark: The Novo Nordisk Foundation and Denmark's Export and Investment Fund (EIFO) have entered into a collaboration with the global tech company NVIDIA to establish a national center for AI innovation. The center will house one of the world's most powerful AI supercomputers, named Gefion.
In the health sector, artificial intelligence is currently being used to help with everything from diagnosing diseases to developing new medicines.
Green transition lesson from a small village: The village of Vandel has reduced its CO2 emissions by 30% since 2021. How? Various initiatives include establishing a village exchange container where you can pick up or drop off used items, a repair cafe, switching to district heating, changing transport habits, and raising awareness about personal climate impact.
Internationals in Denmark
C3 Consulting compiled a list of 25 helpful links for internationals living in Denmark. You can find it here.
Internationals are among the 2024 TOP 100 talents in the Danish business world, according to Berlingske: Sophie Lewis (Ørsted), Sara Peng (COWI), Zahid Rasheed (YouSee), Evaldas Kirilovas (PwC), Kate Plaskonis (Region Skane), Marina Prodan (NNIT A/S) and Isidora Gagovic (Kyndryl Danmark ApS).
European Union HQ
Europe This Week
Revival of nuclear power to reach climate goals. As reported by Euronews, 11 Member States signed a declaration this week in support of nuclear energy as one of the zero emission sources of power generation. The move is also aimed at financial institutions to unlock financing options. Earlier this year, the newly-elected president of the European Investment Bank, Nadia Calviño, had expressed interest in atomic energy, but green groups rejected the idea.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is moving forward with becoming the 28th EU Member State. The European leaders finally agreed to open accession negotiations with the country after nearly eight years since they applied to join the block.
Rights
Residence for non-EU spouses and children: If you are a non-Danish EU citizen living in Denmark, it is now easier for you than for a Danish citizen to bring your non-EU spouse and children here.
If you work in Denmark, then your non-EU spouse doesn’t need to meet any special conditions. If you are a pensioner or a student, you need to prove you have enough funds to support your non-EU spouse.
Your non-EU spouse can obtain permanent residence on the same grounds as you (5 years of continuous living in Denmark).
Your non-EU spouse can continue to stay in Denmark on EU rules in case of divorce, if the marriage lasted at least 3 years and he/she had lived here for at least one year.
Opportunities
$10,000 US and a trip to Athens Democracy Forum: Nominate an extraordinary young person (18-30 years old) engaged in the defense and promotion of democracy for the “Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize.” Deadline! March 31.
Volunteering opportunities with Generation Climate Europe.
Free trip to Sardinia (Italy)*: Join a training course on team development and team management. Deadline! March 30. Apply here. When? April 15-22, 2024
Free trip to Riga (Latvia)*: Join a seminar to exchange ideas and informal learning tools for boosting young people's body image, self-confidence, critical thinking, inclusion and participation. Deadline! March 31. Apply here. When? May 2-5, 2024
*To join the training courses, you need to be a member of an association. If you are not, you can always join AMIS.
Announcement Board
Online, April 3, 17:00-18:30: Danish Tax System Q&A – Get answers to your questions about the tax assessment or about taxes in general. Sign up here.
Last Week in Denmark’s Universe
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