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Last Week in Denmark (30.07 - 06.08) Episode 29 Year 3
Border control; Illegal adoptions; Opportunity for entrepreneurs
Danish Politics HQ
Law proposals and ideas
The government wants to ban the burning of religious books in public places. The Quran burnings in front of different embassies from Islamic countries in Copenhagen have triggered an international incident. Danish diplomacy needs to work very hard to restore diplomatic connections with the 57 Muslim countries. The first step will be to reintroduce part of the “Blasphemy Act,” which will make it illegal to burn religious books in front of embassies.
As the Foreign Minister of Denmark puts it, the timing and intensity of the burnings are strange. We are in a time of war, and there is a race for influence around the globe. Africa, the Muslim world, and Latin America have not clearly chosen sides.
The Foreign Minister also says that while we celebrate freedom of speech in Denmark, we need to be aware of how that freedom can impact others. Burning different religious books in front of the embassies where that religion is official is nothing more than mockery.
Funny enough, the current foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was the one that made this situation possible by taking out of the law the “blasphemy act” in 2017 (when he was prime minister).
Seven opposition parties are against the ban on burning religious books: Five former “blue parties” (Liberal Alliance, Konservative and the three far-right parties DF, DD, NB) and two former “red parties” (Socialists SF and Red-Green Enhedslisten) which have a total of 72 seats in the Danish Parliament (not enough to stop the law) have made a common announcement that they are against the ban on burning religious books.
Due to the “Quran burnings” incident, the terrorist threat against Denmark has intensified: Unfortunately, the actions of a few individuals have triggered an international incident. It is not enough that we have to deal with Russian cybersecurity attacks on our critical infrastructure almost on a daily basis. Now, we also have to worry about religious extremists.
Unfortunately, another side effect of this incident is that border control with Germany and Sweden will be intensified. It was less than three months ago that border control was relaxed, and it was on its way out. The stricter border control is from the 3th August until the 10th August. However, it is expected to be further extended.
Can you burn religious books in public spaces in other European countries?
France: The “public order” law prevents religious books from burning in public spaces.
Netherlands: Local legislation in big cities prohibits citizens from setting fires or burning things in public.
UK: National legislation prohibits acts that incite religious hatred.
Germany, Austria, and Finland: There is a blasphemy act in place that makes it illegal to burn any religious symbols.
Only in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark can you do it legally.
The political arena
Jakob Ellemann-Jensen is back: The leader of the liberals (Venstre) is back after several months of being on sick leave due to stress. He will return to his previous position as Minister of Defence. Several local leaders from Venstre are worried that he is returning with a very heavy daily agenda and might not take it well.
He is accused of misleading the Parliament in January when he rushed a weapons acquisition from the Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems in value of 1.7 billion DKK. There were three issues there: the weapons manufacturer dropped a lawsuit against Denmark before the weapons order; the Parliament was wrongly informed that the deadline to accept the offer was the end of January instead of the end of June; other weapons producers didn’t have the chance to bid.
He needs to lead the discussions on how the 143 billion DKK approved to be invested in the military over the next ten years should be spent. Together, as a package, there are discussions about conscription (should it be mandatory for women? f.ex.).
He also needs to address the fall of liberals in the opinion polls and make a tour around the country in order to meet the local liberal leaders and reassure them.
A TV2 documentary raised questions about adoptions from outside of Denmark: The documentary called “Hemmeligheden i skyggearkivet” revealed that several adoptions from South Korea were, in fact, human trafficking. The children were stolen from their families and sold for a lot of money to “adoptive families” in Denmark. As a reaction to the documentary, the Danish Appeals Board (Ankerstyrelsen) is investigating all of the adoptions from South Korea from the 1970s and 1980s.
Several political parties are asking for a much deeper investigation - to include more countries (People from Denmark adopted over the years from 50 different countries) and over a longer time span.
The Minister of Social Affairs announced that she will look over the adoption rules in Denmark (which already changed in 2016) to see if they can be improved in order to ensure that such situations don’t happen again.
The issue seems to be the private adoption agencies from Denmark and South Korea (and maybe other countries) that accepted fake identities for the children in exchange for large amounts of money.
The issue of human trafficking masked as adoptions is not unique to Denmark. The United Nations asked all the countries to look into the adoptions from abroad, as many cases of human trafficking have been revealed. Norway, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands have already initiated investigations since last year.
Danish Economy HQ
Opportunity for small and medium companies: If you had at least 2 full time employees in 2022 (according to cvr.dk), then you qualify for a 50,000 DKK voucher, which you can use to make your company more competitive on the digital market. You can use the voucher to buy consulting services within digital marketing (SEO, social media campaigns, etc), cybersecurity, development of online shops and websites, digitalization of administration, and other digitalization needs.
If you are interested, write an email to Aalborg Institute for Development at info@aalborgid.com They can guide you through the entire process, from idea to implementation.
The application deadline is August 14th.
You would also like to be more competitive in the digital market, but you don’t have 2 employees yet: No worries. There is a grant for up to 27,000 DKK that can cover 75% of the costs. For more information, write to info@aalborgid.com
The application deadline is August 14th.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
There is a scam going around Denmark targeting internationals: They call and pretend to be from the Police, Europol, or the Ministry of Justice. They will ask you for your MitID, CPR, or even to transfer money. If the authorities ever call you (which is like never), they will not ask for personal information, as they are supposed to have your data in front of them.
Healthcare with Punitha Kumar
Pharma giant Novo Nordisk will be slapped with a series of lawsuits for failing to inform over 400 patients that weight loss drug Ozempic can cause stomach paralysis, US’ Financial Times reported. American law firm Morgan & Morgan said they had already filed a suit on behalf of a 44-year-old woman from Louisiana who claimed that she suffered from stomach paralysis, severe vomiting, lost her teeth, and was hospitalized after consuming the drug. The firm said it has signed up to 400 clients from 45 US states with similar claims that the drug causes gastroparesis, a disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine and causes nausea and vomiting. In Denmark, Ozempic is a popular drug prescribed to treat weight loss and diabetes.
Announcement Board
This section is curated by Cicek Eris. If you have events you want us to include here please send an e-mail to denmarkhappenings@gmail.com. You can check out her newsletter about cultural events in Denmark here.
Esbjerg, August 12th, 10:00-16:00: Join Esbjerg International Day, a colorful celebration of culture, flavors, and unity. Enjoy an enchanting Opening Parade with folk costumes from different cultures, savor authentic global dishes, explore craft stalls, and engage in family-friendly activities.
Odense, 31st August, 08:30-10:45: Join a company visit to Autorola Group, to learn about their international hires and company culture. The event includes a company presentation, a HQ tour, and a personal story from an international employee who will share insights and tips for internationals in Denmark. This event is for accompanying partners of international employees.
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