Last Week in Denmark (28.08 - 04.09) Episode 29 Year 2
Rent increase ceiling; Headscarf debate; Preparing for winter
Editor HQ
We apologize for not sending a newsletter last week. Joining the Political Festival of Europe has been an amazing experience, but also a very time-consuming one. We will send a special edition of the newsletter in the following days with a report on the festival.
Otherwise, we want to announce that we now have several international writers ready to deliver their columns through our platform. Each column will have its own appeal and will reflect the writer’s personality. The columns will be hosted on our website with links in the newsletter (so don’t worry, the newsletter is not getting larger).
Updates from the social media team: They have continued the series of presenting the newcomers and the veterans of this project,with Monika Elend (translator and proofreader on the Polish edition), Iustin Gherman (proofreader English/Romanian edition) Liza Derechenko (social media team) and Susanna Pertica (local reporter Aalborg). You can also get a sneak peek from the festival in this short movie and a rare opportunity to pick as many cherries as you want for free.
Team updates: We would like to say goodbye and thank you to Irena Florentina Dumitru, for being with us for more than a year. She has contributed to the Romanian version of the newsletter as a proofreader for 45 editions of the newsletter.
Danish Politics HQ
New laws and strategies
Maximum 4% rent increase: The majority of the Danish Parliament decided to introduce a 4% maximum rent increase in the next 2 years, for the 160.000 people that have an inflation-influenced rent. The parties behind the majority: Socialdemokratiet; SF; Enhedslisten; Radikale Venstre
The cap on the rent increase only applies if you rent from a private landlord and you have a net price index regulated rent.
There is an exception for landlords that can prove that their expenses have increased by more than 4%.
The law will enter into force on the 1st of January 2023 (however if there will be parliamentary elections until then and if the four parties behind the agreement lose majority, then the agreement falls).
Finance Law 2023: Every year, at the end of summer, the government announces a draft proposal for Denmark’s budget for the following year. The draft proposal is then debated in the Parliament and negotiated with the other parties, until a majority is found. Usually, around December, the final version of the budget is announced.
The first conclusion from the draft is that the budget for next year is tight - there is little space to fund new initiatives. The government wants to be more careful with spending during times of high inflation.
2 billion DKK have been set aside as an “inflation aid package” to support the people that will be most affected by inflation in 2023. It’s not decided yet how the money will be spent.
The “negotiation reserve pool” is the lowest ever. This is usually the amount that the government uses to finance wishes from different political parties in order to gain their support for the budget. Amount - 600 million DKK (50% less than in 2022).
1,3 billion DKK for the COVID pandemic management. A lot less than in 2022, when 4 billion DKK have been set aside for the pandemic.
223 million DKK for the environment; 381 million DKK for animal welfare and sustainable fishing; 80 million DKK to change the cars owned by the state to electric and hydrogen.
1700 new offshore wind turbines will be built in the Baltic Sea, as a result of an agreement between Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states and the European Union. They will supply 30 million homes with energy.
Freetown Christiania is expanding: The former military base placed in the heart of Copenhagen that was occupied by squatters in 1971 has agreed to the offer from the Danish government to build public housing for 300 people. Now, the freetown has a population of 850 people. Christiania is known for the open trade of cannabis.
The parliamentary elections 2022
We are getting closer to a blue government: The latest poll has shown the blue parties reached 49,9% of the voters. The red parties are stagnating at 46,7%. Lars Løkke’s Moderaterne (which refused to join either the blue or red camp) are the kingmakers with 2,8%.
Søren Pape Poulsen's announcement that he wants to be the prime minister of Denmark pushed the Conservative party to 16,7%, making it the largest party in the blue camp.
The blue camp depends on DF to pass the 2% line (they are at 2,2% now) and on Inger Støjberg’s DD to keep the 11,8% until election day.
Second attempt for unity: First, the Green Alliance (former Vegan Party) invited Alternativet and the Free Greens to join their party and form a strong green party. Both refused to join. Now, Alternativet invited the Green Alliance and the Free Greens to join their party, on the basis that they are the biggest among them and only together they can obtain the minimum percentage to enter the Danish Parliament. So far, the Free Greens have refused the offer and the Green Alliance is quiet.
The Free Greens proposed a ban on short-distance flights, a reduction of the working week to 25 hours and a tax on millionaires.
Law proposals
The headscarf debate: A commission established by the government last year to look into the situation of non-Danish women in Denmark came with a shocking proposal - to ban headscarves in schools.
Why? “It divides children and shows that Muslim girls are different from Danish girls” according to the commission.
A similar ban was introduced in France in 2004. As a result, 5% of the girls that wanted to wear a headscarf have abandoned school. There is a high risk that in Denmark the percentage will be much higher.
If the headscarves should be banned, all other religious symbols in schools need to be banned as otherwise it is religious discrimination. Freedom of religion is protected by the Constitution.
The leaders of the Danish schools do not support the idea and call it a “huge problem”. Several experts have denounced the commission as their work so far is not based on any researched evidence.
Danish Economy HQ
Preparing for winter: The Danish Energy Agency made 30 proposals on how the public system can reduce energy consumption (heat and electricity) during the winter months.
The temperature inside will be reduced from 22-23 degrees to 19-20 degrees.
According to experts, 19 degrees is the lowest temperature that you tolerate to be able to work in front of a computer. Anything under 19 degrees, will mean using gloves while typing.
The Danish Working Environment Authority says that 18 degrees is the lowest acceptable temperature.
The public system means public institutions, schools, police stations, etc. The hospitals are exempt from the proposal.
The hot water for hand washing in toilets will be closed; The maximum temperature in showers will be reduced.
More people will be encouraged to work from home.
The end of Russian gas: The Russians have closed the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for three days to show the Europeans what is waiting for them in the winter. If the Russians completely stop gas delivery to Denmark, it is predicted that the economy will enter a recession and roughly 30,000 people will lose their jobs.
The price of wood pellets is going up, that is if you can find them to buy: If you are planning to heat your home with wood pellets this winter, you need to pay attention to your stocks. Their price has doubled in 2022, from 2.205 DKK to 5.470 DKK for a pallet. Why? There is a shortage of wood pellets on the market. 100.000 houses are heated with wood pellets in Denmark.
Wood pellets are made from compressed wood shavings and sawdust. All types of wood can be made into pellets, but typically spruce, pine and beech are used.
Energy consumption is going down: 9,86% lower consumption of electricity in 2022 in the first half of the year compared to 2021. People in Denmark have become more conscious about their electricity usage. The app “Min strøm” that allows you to monitor your energy consumption has been downloaded 70,000 times.
Danish companies and private consumers have reduced their gas consumption by 17% compared to 2021, way ahead of the target of 15% by 2023.
Time to buy a house: After 10 years of continuous growth of the house prices, they are finally going down. In 2023, they are expected to go down 5% on average. Of course, it varies wildly between the 98 municipalities. The price has gone down as much as -17,8% already this year in Morsø (North Denmark). Check the map here.
There is a downside to buying a house now. The high interest rates for the bank loan. So if you have the cash go for it, if not try to balance the lower price with the higher cost of your bank loan and see if it’s worth it.
Highest interest rates for mortgage loans in 11 years: If you have a variable mortgage loan, then you probably noticed that you are paying more now. On average, the interest rate has grown to between 2 to 2,6%. If you have a fixed mortgage loan, then you now have the opportunity to restructure your loan to get a smaller debt. Talk to your bank adviser about it.
How to apply for compensation from SAS for a canceled flight: 380.000 customers got their flights canceled because of the strikes this summer. Now you can apply for compensation which can range between 1.900 DKK and 4.500 DKK. Click here to go to the compensation form. Even if you bought your tickets with a travel company, you could still get compensation from SAS, if you were supposed to fly with them.
You can get a compensation if your flight got canceled within 14 days before departure and if your trip has been rebooked.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Booster vaccine against corona: People over 50 years old; Pregnant women; Healthcare and elderly care staff will receive a booster vaccine against corona from October 1st . Also from October 1st , you will be able to get a flu vaccine. According to the minister of health, no restrictions are expected this winter.
Schools don’t need parental consent to take photos of the children for internal use: According to the Danish Data Protection Authority, parental consent is not necessary to comply with the GDPR rules. If before, you could have selected on AULA that you don’t want your child to be photographed, from now on, that option no longer exists.
Climate with Amina McCauley
Oxygen depletion in Danish fjords and coastal areas is even worse this year, especially in the south-eastern Jylland fjords, a new report by Aarhus University states. Some benthic animals (animals and organisms that live at the lowest level of a body of water) have been found dead in the Limfjorden and the waters of Småland, and the release of toxic hydrogen sulfide has been found. The oxygen depletion was recorded earlier this year, the report finds, and is more widespread and more intense than at the same time last year. Oxygen depletion occurs when algal blooms suck the oxygen out of the water, and this can ultimately have a fatal result for marine life. Strong, windy weather can supply oxygen to the affected areas, but if it does not come in the autumn, then the conditions in the affected areas can become even worse.
Culture and religion
“Women priests should no longer be discriminated against” says the majority of bishops in the Danish National Church. At the moment, it is legal for the parish council (menighedsråd) to refuse a woman’s application to become priest in their parish, strictly due to her gender. 58% of the priests in the Danish National Church are women.
Sport with Jelimir Vlastici
On Tuesday in Podgorica, Montenegro, Denmark's women’s national football team managed to officially secure the tickets to the World Cup for next year. In terms of statistics, the team finished the qualifying round with eight games, eight wins and 38 goals scored. The World Cup will be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 2023 and it will take place from July 29 to August 20.
Also on Tuesday evening, but in Frederikshavn, the Danish national women’s ice hockey team was eliminated from the World Cup. In the last second of the final game against Germany, the Danish side conceded a goal that stopped them from qualifying to the quarter-finals, leaving the cheering crowd devastated. The Women's World Championship is taking place August 25-September 4 in Herning and Frederikshavn, with the final being held in Herning on the Kvik Hockey Arena from 19:30.
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