Last Week in Denmark (19.05-26.05) Episode 18 Year 4
More money in the state treasury; Palestine’s independence; Digital fraud
Editor HQ
State of Denmark
Two weeks left until the European Parliament elections on June 9th! The streets have been decorated with posters, and enthusiastic people are welcoming you around the squares with flyers and small gifts. The media is buzzing like never before about the European Union, while candidates reach out to you through social media or your mailbox. The beautiful festival of democracy is in full swing.
We will join the fray and dedicate the next two editions of the newsletter (June 2nd and 9th) to the European Parliament elections. On June 2nd, we will publish an election guide about the candidates, political parties, and their standings on various issues. On June 9th, we will post an overview of the main issues and ideas proposed during the campaign and how the elections are looking in the rest of Europe.
We recognize that the next editions might not be the most interesting to our non-European citizen audience, and we hope for your understanding. At the same time, we recommend you still take a peek at the two editions, as they can be a great preparatory tool for future permanent residence and citizenship tests.
As for European citizens, you have two options for voting. If you managed to register to vote for a Danish candidate, you can simply go to the nearest voting section (usually within a 2 km radius). If you are still registered to vote for a candidate from your origin state, you must check with your embassy what your possibilities to vote are.
Unsure who to vote for? Listen to our podcast #VOTEHOME and read our election guide next week. There you can read about the races, including which parties are more pro-European (there is one Danish party that even dared to ask to introduce the euro), about the death of the Denmark-exit movement, and about the complete reversal of one political party from anti- to pro-European.
Thank you for sharing Last Week in Denmark!
Word of the Week
Borgerlig = No direct translation; it means someone that is not following the socialist or social-democrat ideology. You see it is often used to describe parties and candidates from liberal, conservative, Christian-democrat or far-right ideologies. Historically, it has described a society class (estate) between the peasants and the nobility, the bourgeoisie.
Quiz
Danish Politics HQ
Weekly political overview
The construction of the first Danish prison abroad has started. Kosovo’s Parliament has approved a treaty with Denmark and leased a prison with 300 places to be used for criminal internationals sentenced for deportation. The prison will be refurbished to meet Danish standards and will be ready in a maximum of two years.
10% of Denmark’s land should be “untouched” and dedicated to nature. A political alliance between SF, Radikale Venstre, Alternativet, Enhedslisten, Konservative and Liberal alliance demands that the government respect the EU law which says that 30% of land should be dedicated to nature while 10% should be left untouched by humans. Today, only 1.6% is “untouched nature territory”.
Beam trawl fishing on its way out from Danish waters. The government proposed to ban this method of fishing and is working towards a European-wide ban. Why? The technique is destructive to the seabed and the marine ecosystem.
Focus
The independence of Palestine: Next week, Parliament will vote if Denmark should recognize Palestine as an independent state. Several other countries have already done so, like Norway, Spain and Ireland.
Four political parties (Enhedslisten, Alternativet, SF and Radikale Venstre) have proposed the initiative.
The government parties are not in favor of the proposal and there is no majority behind it. Why? “To be a state, you must have a territory that you control and some authorities that can control it. And that is not exactly what the situation is right now,” says the Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
When the economy is going well, the state treasury also stands to profit: There will be 10 to 12 billion DKK more in the state treasury in 2030 than initially expected, triggering a political alliance between Liberal Alliance, Konservative and DD (far-right) to demand at least half be used to lower taxes in Denmark. According to the leader of Liberal Alliance, Alex Vanoplasgh, they are not picky about which taxes should be lowered. The leader of DD, Inger Støjberg, would like to remove the diesel tax, the streaming tax and the future carbon tax. For Konservative’s leader, Mona Juul, what’s important is to increase the tax deductions so more people can benefit directly.
Danish Economics HQ
The tax minister is looking into the possibility of differential VAT: Today, we pay 25% VAT (moms) on top of the vast majority of goods and services. In other EU states, VAT is differential; for example, food products have a lower VAT, making them more accessible. For the first time in decades, a tax minister is willing to see if it would be possible to do the same in Denmark.
Differential VAT is a financial policy tool that can be used to increase consumption of certain products, while discouraging consumption of others. Multiple organizations have campaigned for years for the government to consider this approach to VAT.
Beware of recovery fraud: If you have been the subject of online fraud and you are looking for support online, you might encounter the services of a company like Payback Ltd., that promises to recover your money. Unfortunately, that is also fraud, as they will not be able to recover your money. Instead, they will deliver a long report that helps with nothing.
Recovery fraud is when tricksters take advantage of fraud victims looking for help. They usually pretend to have a legal background and always ask for an initial fee + a monthly fee for working on the case.
Also, just because something has a high score on Trustpilot, doesn’t automatically mean they are trustworthy. For example, Payback Ltd scores 4.3 out of 5 there, but they have so far scammed people out of millions of euros.
15% of the digital fraud victims are young people under 26 years old: Last year, 35,000 digital fraud cases were reported to the police. This is a 30% increase since last year, and with the AI advent, we expect an even bigger increase this year. For example, a young man from Viborg got scammed out of 30,000 DKK after he got a SMS from MobilePay asking to make an update in regards to money laundering.
Types of online fraud: Online banking fraud (transfer money to the criminal or submit ID, password, MitID, etc. information via fake websites, emails, text messages or phone calls); Payment card fraud (fake webshops that steal your card information); Love scam (under the guise of friendship and love they convince you to make bank transfers); Investment fraud (false promises of good investment opportunities); Director fraud (an employee is tricked into making an unauthorized transfer); Invoice fraud (similar but with fake invoices, which they often send to many companies at the same time).
Entrepreneur’s corner
Win 75,000 EUR in the “European Social Innovation Contest”: Based on the theme “Digital Democracy,” the 2024 edition calls for entrepreneurial solutions responding to the most burning social needs, creating social relationships and enabling new collaborations in an innovative way and bringing effective solutions to systemic social challenges. Read more here. Deadline! June 11.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Insights into the Danish way of life
Today, Sunday May 26, is King Frederik X’s 56th birthday. It will be his first birthday as a king, and both His Majesty and The Royal Family will appear on the balcony of Frederik VIII’s Palace at 12:00.
The King has a rich background in politics and education: after earning his master’s degree in political science from Aarhus University, he became the best-educated Danish monarch ever (he also speaks fluent French, English and German!). He served at the Danish UN mission in New York in 1994, and was stationed at the Royal Danish Embassy in Paris in 1998-1999. On top of that, he was appointed rear admiral in the Navy and major general in the Army and Air Force in 1995.
Our new king is a multifaceted man – far from what one might imagine when thinking of a royal. Above everything, he is a sportsman at heart, with a long list of remarkable achievements in the field: Frederik was member of the International Olympic Committee for 12 years, participated in a four-month, 2.795km dog-sled expedition in Greenland, and was the first Danish royal to finish an ironman triathlon (a combination of swimming, cycling and running that adds up to 226.3km). In the world of fine arts, he can play piano, guitar and (yes!) mouth harp. He has also been quite vocal about his faith, and still shares evening prayers with his youngest children in the evenings.
Just as the King turns one year older, another Danish legend is getting recognized this week. Thursday the 30th will be the International Day of the Potato – what would Danes do without it? Although the vegetable is present in a very large number of meals, the first place goes to an all time favorite, smørrebrød med kartoffel (or rye bread with potato). The love for this tuber is so big that Denmark even has its own national Potato Museum in Hofmansgave, running since the year 2000.
Call to Action
We are looking for a LinkedIn team leader for Last Week in Denmark. It would be a big plus if you already had some experience using LinkedIn, either through your personal brand or your job. You should be able to allocate 4 to 5 hours weekly. Contact the current team via a message on the Linkedin page.
Help us grow our Spanish-edition newsletter. If you have colleagues, neighbors, acquaintances, club mates that speak Spanish, etc., please direct them to our Spanish-edition of Last Week in Denmark. Our goal is to reach 500 subscribers :) Please give us a helping hand.
Weekly overview
Trump vs. Danish cinema: After the premiere of the Danish movie “The Apprentice” directed by the Iranian-Danish Ali Abbasi, Trump’s campaign team has threatened a “ginormous” lawsuit. Why? The movie depicts the life of young adult Trump and how he was corrupted by his mentor, Roy Cohn.
Trump is played by the Romanian actor Sebastian Stan (just a bonus for our Romanian audience).
The King vs. Danish language: The Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet called King Frederik the “king of nonsense” after he used the word “travel” five times in the same sentence in an interview. It is not the first time that the King’s oratory skills are being questioned. In the eyes of monarchists like the founder of the far-right party DF, Pia Kjærsgaard, it’s a sacrilege to question the King’s speaking abilities or even to see him as a “normal person.”
Oral health vs. public dental services: Unfortunately, in the past couple of years, we started to see more and more reports of unfit public dental services. The latest one comes from Holbæk municipality, where after a control visit from the Patient Safety Authority, an order was issued to change deficient practices that led to terrible long-term consequences for the young people's oral health.
Follow-up to the vegan lawsuit story: In a previous edition, we have written that the Danish Vegetarian Association sued the regional government in the capital on claims that a vegan patient was discriminated against as there was no vegan option for the free hospital food. The association lost the lawsuit.
“Protect the bees”, sounds the alarm call from the beekeeper association (6,000 members strong). The fight to protect the bees is far from over. Nineteen species have already become extinct in Denmark, while 56 others are very close. If you have a garden, you can help.
How? Do not trim the dandelions. Plant insect- and bee-friendly plants in your garden. Leave part of your garden untouched, as a sort of “wild area.”
The beekeepers are concerned that the farmers would no longer need to assign 4% of their land as “fallow,” (a place where nothing is sowed) from 2025. The “fallow” areas are used as habitats by the bees.
How well do you know nature? According to several biologists, the better we are able to understand nature, the more likely we would be driven to protect it. That’s why May 23 has become “Nature’s Name Day” where events are organized around the country to teach people about nature. The initiative is organized in 11 European states.
Only 29% of the children (5-12 years old) spend daily time in nature during the summer vacation. A couple decades ago, the figure was at 55%. Several studies show that nature positively influences intelligence development.
A good way to learn about nature is to go to the nearest forest, take photos of different species, upload them on the free app “Arter” and find out what their name is.
Life stories - How a sick leave with depression led to a successful new direction: Rasmus Mandal from Frederiksberg went on a sick leave after he was diagnosed with “anxious evasive personality disorder,” meaning heightened sensitivity to rejection, criticism, and a pervasive sense of inferiority in which you never feel that you are good enough. At home, he started to knit and decided to share that hobby with everyone on Instagram. His account “Mandestrik” has over 20,000 followers today.
European Union HQ
Europe This Week
Russia removed a controversial proposal to revise its Baltic Sea border, causing NATO nations' concern. The draft cited outdated maps but was deleted without explanation. Neighboring countries, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, and Estonia are investigating the case.
On a similar note, the EU demands explanation from Russia over Estonian border Incident. EU Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell demanded an explanation from Russia after the removal of navigation buoys on the Estonian border. Estonia and the EU view this as part of Russia's broader pattern of provocative actions. The incident has heightened tensions and concerns over hybrid warfare in the Baltic region.
AfD excluded from European Parliament's ID group. The party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) was expelled from the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament due to incidents involving its candidate, Maximilian Krah. This move highlights a growing rift among Europe's right-wing parties, with leaders like French politician Marine Le Pen distancing themselves from controversial figures to appeal to a broader electorate.
Rights
You have the right to buy insurance products from any insurance company in the European Union: Insurance companies can sell their products anywhere in the EU – either by establishing themselves in other countries, or providing their services across borders directly, for example via their websites, or through intermediaries. You can therefore shop around the European market for the best deals on insurance products (for example, life insurance, household insurance, and car insurance).
Before you sign a contract, the person or company selling the insurance product must also tell you whether they're acting as an agent or broker and about their links to the insurance company providing the product.
Opportunities
Free trip to Helsinki (Finland): Join a partnership-building activity to explore the possibility of making an international project together. September 9-13. Deadline! June 2. Sign up here.
Free trip to Luxembourg: Join a training course focused on inclusion and participation strategies. August 14-18. Deadline! June 3. Sign up here.
Free trip to Antwerp (Belgium): Join a training course on learning more about sports as a tool for non-formal learning. October 13-18. Deadline! June 3. Sign up here.
*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, May 28, 14:00-15:45: Are you new to job searching in Denmark? International House North Denmark would like to invite you to a free seminar where you will be introduced to the basics of job searching in Denmark. Sign-up here.
Randers, May 30-June 2: Enjoy some delicious food and listen to live music at the Street Food Festival in the heart of Randers.
Aarhus, May 31, 10:00-12:00: Do you want to find someone to join you for a walk, meet up with people for coffee or find someone who shares your interests? Then this fun and informal “Coffee Morning” event where you get to meet new people, and ask questions to the occasional speakers is perfect for you.
Odense, June 4, 13:00: Company visit for spouses at Airwallet. The visit will take place in Airwallet’s headquarters and will be a mix of useful information about the company’s products, the customers, how it started, and space for networking. Registration is required.
International media about Denmark HQ
The Denmark secret: how it became the world’s most trusting country – and why that matters (Guardian)
Denmark’s economy shrinks 1.8% on reduced pharma production, showing extent of Novo Nordisk dependency (Fortune)
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.
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