Last Week in Denmark (20.02 - 27.02) Episode 7 Year 2
The Russian Invasion! Energy prices; Ukrainian refugees;
Editor HQ
Thursday morning, I woke up to the news that Russia invaded Ukraine. I was horrified to see that the mad old man from Moscow brought war again to Europe, in his plan to revive the “Soviet Union”. Since then, this has been the only thing on my mind.
The Ukrainian army is fighting for all of us. They are keeping the Russian army from going further into Europe. We also need to do our part.
Support the Ukrainian refugees
Donate to the Ukrainian army
Give emotional support to your Ukrainian co-workers or acquaintances
Wear yellow and blue to show your support for Ukraine
Boycott Russian products
Go to war with Russian propaganda. Report all the “pro-Putin” posts you see on social media as “fake news”.
To stay informed about the on-going situation in Ukraine, I recommend the following publications and social media channels: The Kyiv Independent, The New Voice of Ukraine, Ukraine World, Stand With Ukraine, Svidomi and Ukrainians in Solidarity.
Danish Politics HQ
The political game
The focus this week has been the Russian invasion against Ukraine. The youth political parties (from both “red” and “blue” blocks) and the pro-european youth have organized a demonstration in Copenhagen called #StandwithUkraine. The only political party that refused to participate is the far-right party Nye Borgerlige (NB).
NB! In Denmark, each political party has an independent “youth” version for members under 30 years old. They act as places where people as young as 15 years old can practice the art of politics.
With the parliamentary elections looming around the corner, few political parties seem ready.
The main candidate from the “red” block, current prime-minister Mette Frederiksen, has never been so unpopular.
The “blue” block cannot even decide on a prime-minister candidate, with the Conservatives challenging Venstre’s (Liberals) status as leaders of the “blue” parties. Venstre is losing big name after big name (7 of their most voted candidates will not run again) and is going down in the opinion polls.
The “infamous'' DF that made life really hard for internationals for almost a decade now is crumbling into pieces. One after another, their members of the Danish Parliament are leaving the party. Six left this week. Others are preparing to leave. DF has remained with 10 members of the Danish Parliament.
Quota refugees: The three support parties of the government (Enhedslisten, Radikale Venstre, SF) are putting pressure on the social-democrat government to respect the promise of receiving 500 refugees every year (sent from the United Nations refugee camps). So far, only 88 refugees have arrived in Denmark, from the 1500 expected in the last three years.
3F elections: Ahead of the 3F (trade union) Congress in April, there seems to be only one candidate for the position of chairman. So far, Henning Overgaard is the only candidate.
New laws and strategies
The Danish government, with the approval of the parliament, decided to place several F16 fighter jets in Poland and a few hundred soldiers in Estonia. Also, the prime minister announced 50 million DKK in humanitarian aid for Ukraine and preparations to receive tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
Denmark ended the vaccine research cooperation with Israel and Austria. Why? There is no majority support for the cooperation in the parliament. The 122 million DKK set aside for the research fund will be repurposed.
The parliament approved fewer exams this year for the students finishing “folkeskolen” and “gymnasium”. Why? Corona affected the class schedules in the last year, providing a lower quality of education.
New rules for non-profit lotteries
Under 10.000 DKK in sales - Anyone can organize; No taxes
10.000 to 50.000 DKK in sales - Only registered associations can organize; No taxes; The event needs to be registered with “Spillemyndigheden”
Over 50.000 DKK in sales - Only registered associations can organize; No taxes; You need to get special permission to organize the event.
Law proposals
Several political parties have proposed a special law for the Ukrainian refugees. The law would allow them to work from the first days of arrival in Denmark.
Gender quotas: After 10 years of opposition to an EU proposal to introduce a gender quota to the companies boards of directors, the new minister of equality reversed stance and made a law proposal. Companies with more than 50 employees will need to ensure a relatively equal board of directors (at least 40% from each gender).
Danish Economy HQ
Consequences of the Russian invasion
Gas prices are already increasing. However, if the Russian gas supply is stopped, the prices will go wild. 60% increase expected.
Petrol prices are also expected to increase. The price for a barrel of crude oil reached 100 dollars.
The increase in energy prices will also make other products more expensive.
The Danish stock market C25 lost 4% in value.
Export to Russia will be affected by the sanctions. The exports to Russia value 7 billion DKK yearly. 3,000 to 4,000 Danish jobs depend on this export.
The largest export markets for Denmark are: Germany, USA, Sweden, UK, Norway, China, Netherlands and France. Russia ranks barely 17th.
Energy prices are historically high. Your electricity bill will only get more expensive in the following months. It’s a good time to think about electricity savings.
20% of your electricity usage goes to the washing machine. Use the machine less and fill it up to the maximum.
Avoid using your dryer machine as much as possible. Replace it with a drying rack.
Use the dishwasher only once a week.
Don’t boil more water in the kettle than you need.
Sell your gaming pc. It also represents 20% of your electricity usage.
Count how many light bulbs are on at the same time in the house. Reduce.
One family (2 adults and 2 children) made an energy experiment to see how much they can save in one week. The result? 500 DKK.
The government launched a pilot initiative to revive the centers of small cities (4,000 - 20,000 people). 10 small cities can apply for 130 million DKK.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Call to action: The project “Work-Live-Stay” is doing research into the attraction, reception and retention of internationals in Denmark, with the purpose to improve these aspects. You can help their research by completing this multilingual survey.
How to talk to your children about the war in Ukraine: The association “Børns Vilkår” made a guide on how to talk to your children about the war.
Talk to the children and listen
Let the child ask questions
Pay attention to what the child sees and hears
Take care of the children's fears