What did we learn this week?
The EU right to repair electronics will be finally introduced in Denmark.
Mette Frederiksen made an alliance with Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni to defend Europe’s Christian cultural heritage.
10% average increase in house prices compared to last year.
Letter from the editor
The return to hverdag (everyday life) feels almost like a New Year’s celebration. A more important one, dare I say. You might not see fireworks or champagne, but the entire month of August is brimming with life and a certain sense of positivity. Denmark is starting up again.
Some parents have just taken their children to their first skolestart (the first day of school). I can only imagine the emotions, as I am just one year away from doing the same with my daughter. New students have arrived in the university cities. For many internationals, this is how their Danish story begins. It was certainly how mine began, back in 2009.
I still remember my first day in Denmark (who doesn’t?). My parents drove me more than 2,000 kilometers by car, only to drop me off with a bag full of canned food at an address I had found on some forum. There, I discovered a tiny, empty apartment that I was supposed to share with five other people. As you can imagine, my first nights were spent on the floor, until I got lucky and found a second-hand couch on the street.
And yet, I wasn’t unhappy. Quite the opposite. There was magic in the air. I felt like this was the beginning of something great, and whatever hardships came my way couldn’t really touch that euphoria.
That, to me, is the magic of August. It simply makes Denmark feel different.
Companies return from the summer holidays and start hiring again. Projects that have been waiting through July suddenly begin moving. People who previously said no to your collaboration or slightly crazy idea might be more willing to say yes. I have experienced it myself: even the public system (yes, the institutions) can suddenly seem more excited about trying something new.
August is an excellent month to look for a job, go networking, find collaborators, start volunteering, or finally do that thing you have been postponing. And perhaps there is a practical reason for that feeling. We are entering the longest relatively* uninterrupted stretch of the Danish working year: August to November. Summer holidays are behind us, and Christmas is still far enough away. For a few months, it feels like there is enough time to actually build something.
So while January gets the fireworks and resolutions, I think August deserves some recognition too. Enjoy Denmark’s great restart. And if all this talk about trying something new has made you curious, you are always welcome to join our team. Perhaps your new beginning starts with us.
*if you ignore the one-week October vacation
Thank you for reading and sharing Last Week in Denmark!
Narcis George Matache, Executive Editor, LWID
Our long-form articles this week…
Can Denmark’s Second-Hand Culture Be Moved Online? by Daniel Sfita
Safety, Social Norms, and Why Copenhagen’s Cyclists Skip the Helmet by Daniel Sfita
Want to dig deeper into the latest news? Check out the Last Week in Denmark podcast. New episodes drop on all podcast apps and YouTube every Wednesday. Follow now so you don’t miss it.
LWID Universe
Linkedin - Instagram - Facebook - LWID App - Merchandise Store - Podcast - Website
Wondering what volunteer teams you can join? One of our social media teams (Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook), the Podcast Team (support roles only), one of the original writing teams (Columns, Reporters) or one of the eight newsletter language teams (that you can find below). Write to info@lwid.dk and we will direct you to the right person.
Did you know you can read Last Week in Denmark in eight other languages?
Romanian - Polish - Spanish - Turkish - Italian - German - Hungarian - Ukrainian
Image(s) of the Week
📸Did you see the Perseid meteor shower? 100 shooting stars in just one hour. Check photos here. What about the partial solar eclipse? If not, check photos here.
Danish Politics HQ
New laws
🦐 Shrimp fishing around Rømø can resume after authorities lifted a decades-old ban linked to unexploded mines on the seabed. Fishing boats have been unable to catch brown shrimp around Rømø since late May, after authorities began enforcing restrictions that had effectively been ignored for decades. Following a safety assessment, the Emergency Management Agency concluded that the danger is no greater than in other waters where warnings already apply. From August 15, the areas will therefore become warning zones rather than prohibited zones, allowing fishing to resume at the fishermen’s own risk.
Law proposals
🔧 It will become easier to repair your electronics instead of replacing them. Denmark is implementing new EU “right to repair” rules covering products including washing machines, fridges, mobile phones, hard drives, and more. Manufacturers will have to offer repairs either free of charge or at a reasonable price, complete them within a reasonable time, and not create unnecessary obstacles that make repairs difficult. The proposal had its first reading in Parliament this week, after Denmark missed the EU implementation deadline of July 31. The government wants the rules to take effect as soon as the law is adopted and published.
Political scene
✝️ Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni say Europe must protect its Christian cultural heritage and expect people moving here to respect European values. In a joint statement, the two leaders argued that respecting European laws is not enough and that the millions of non-Europeans that live in Europe should respect the values of their host societies. The unusual partnership between Denmark’s Social Democratic prime minister and Italy’s far-right leader is increasingly focused on tougher European migration policy, including deporting criminals and establishing asylum and return centers outside Europe. No new concrete policies were announced this week.
👦 Some political parties want to lower the age of criminal responsibility after Sweden decided that 14-year-olds can be prosecuted for serious crimes. Sweden’s parliament voted this week to lower the limit from 15 to 14 for certain serious offenses, amid concerns that gangs recruit children. Denmark currently has an age of criminal responsibility of 15, but the DD (Nationalist Populists) want it lowered, while the DF (Nationalist Conservative) argues children as young as 12 should face criminal responsibility for particularly serious crimes. SF (Green Left) opposes changing the limit, arguing that Denmark can already place children in secure institutions and impose measures through the Youth Crime Board. Denmark previously lowered the age from 15 to 14 in 2010 before raising it back to 15 in 2012.
🏳️🌈 Equality Minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen has accused a DF (Nationalist Conservative) politician of hostility towards LGBT+ people after he mentioned the Pride and ISIS flags in the same Facebook post. During Copenhagen Pride week, Zimmermann wrote that Denmark should not fly “the EU flag, Pride flag or ISIS flag” but instead the Dannebrog (Danish flag). Halsboe-Jørgensen called the comparison inappropriate following last month’s terrorist attack on Berlin Pride. Zimmermann says he supports the safety of LGBT+ people but does not believe Pride flags should be displayed in public spaces.
🏛️ The new government has received its first minister popularity ranking, with Health and Church Minister Ida Auken coming out at the bottom. In an Epinion poll, 18% of respondents viewed Auken positively and 38% negatively, giving her a net score of -20. Culture Minister Zenia Stampe followed at -17, while Climate Minister Samira Nawa, Finance Minister Peter Hummelgaard, and Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen shared third place at -8. At the other end, Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen was the government’s most popular minister with +11, followed by Jacob Mark and Pia Olsen Dyhr, both at +8.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
🐺 Authorities have shot a wolf in West Jutland after repeated encounters with people. The wolf had been spotted several times around Houstrup and Nørre Nebel showing little fear of humans, prompting authorities to authorize its removal. Naturstyrelsen (Nature Agency) had deployed armed staff and thermal drones and even introduced a special SMS service allowing residents to report sightings directly to teams in the field. The wolf was shot on August 13 after approaching to around 10 meters.
🐺 What should you actually do if you meet a wolf? Following recent close encounters, authorities have reminded people that wolves normally avoid humans, and there have been no recorded wolf attacks on people in Denmark. If a wolf comes within around 30 meters and does not move away, stay calm, do not follow it, and make yourself clearly known by shouting or waving your arms. Keep eye contact and, if you unexpectedly find yourself very close, slowly back away rather than turning your back. In the extremely unlikely event of an attack, authorities advise fighting back with maximum resistance. Wolf sightings can also be reported through the national wolf-monitoring system at Ulveatlas.dk.
👓 Smart glasses that can discreetly film people are facing backlash in Denmark over privacy concerns. Ray-Ban Meta glasses look much like ordinary glasses but contain a camera, and several cases have involved people being filmed without their knowledge and later appearing on social media. The Consumer Council says the small blinking light signalling when the glasses are recording is not obvious enough. Filming people in public is not generally illegal in Denmark, but publishing footage can be restricted depending on the circumstances. Tænk (Consumer Council) is calling for clearer rules as smart glasses make it increasingly difficult to know when you are being recorded.
🍺 A 28-year-old has set off on a 3,000-kilometre cycling trip to visit Jutland’s traditional “brown pubs.” Anders Melsen is cycling his way north through Jutland, stopping at local brune værtshuse and documenting the journey as “Værtshusrytteren” (the Pub Rider). He hopes the trip will draw attention to the traditional pubs and the small communities that form around them. A brunt værtshus is the Danish version of an old-fashioned neighborhood pub: usually inexpensive and populated by regulars, with darts or slot machines often completing the experience. They are also slowly disappearing; Copenhagen, for example, went from more than 1,000 traditional pubs in the late 1980s to just over 200 today.
🚲 Four out of ten children now rarely or never cycle to school, raising concerns about the future of the country’s famous cycling culture. The Cyclists’ Federation says the share of children cycling to school has almost halved compared with 30 years ago, despite a national cycling strategy introduced in 2014 aiming to get more children on bikes. Distance is one of the main reasons parents give, while more than one in four say they do not feel the route to school is safe enough. Transport Minister Signe Munk says improving cycling around schools will receive particular attention.
🏫 Denmark’s first Swan-labeled public school has finally opened near Nykøbing Falster, around four years later than originally planned. Sundskolen meets the Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s requirements for buildings, including low energy consumption, good indoor climate, strict limits on harmful chemicals, certified wood, and opportunities to reuse and recycle building materials. The project was originally supposed to be ready in 2022 but was hit by construction problems, with the final bill growing to 303 million DKK.
👩🏫 Some municipalities are now paying student teachers to work in schools while they study as Denmark struggles with a growing shortage of qualified teachers. Municipalities have introduced positions where students spend part of their week studying and part teaching in classrooms, with some receiving a salary for two teaching days per week. Education Minister Magnus Heunicke calls the initiatives “an expression of desperation” and acknowledges that national efforts have failed to solve the problem. Denmark was short around 4,300 qualified teachers last year, while enrollment in teacher education has fallen 28% in five years. Almost one in five newly qualified teachers who start working in a folkeskole also leave within three years, and the government now wants to invest in attracting more teachers and bringing some of the roughly 40,000 qualified teachers who have left the profession back into public schools.
🎮 From gaming to yoga and 3D printing, municipalities are experimenting to make school work for children who struggle with traditional school life. In Odense, schools are looking at more adult-led activities during breaks after experiences showing that completely unstructured frikvarter (recess) can be difficult for some children. At Næsby School, pupils can already choose activities including yoga and 3D printing, robots, and Lego, providing more structured alternatives to the playground. Meanwhile, Sorø has launched a different experiment for children experiencing skolevægring (school refusal). The Respawn program uses games like Minecraft to create a safe environment and rebuild relationships before gradually introducing Danish and math. The goal is to help children regain confidence and routine to return to ordinary schooling. In both cases, the thinking is similar: sometimes helping a child thrive at school means changing the environment around the child rather than expecting the child to adapt.
🧠 The number of children in Denmark receiving antidepressant medication has almost doubled in five years. New figures from Sundhedsdatabanken show that 7,050 children aged 0–17 received SSRI medication in 2025, compared with 3,694 in 2020, an increase of more than 90%. Most are teenagers aged 13–17, although there are also cases involving children as young as six. SSRIs can be prescribed for depression, anxiety, and OCD. Experts say the increase partly reflects greater recognition of psychiatric conditions among children, but there are concerns that medication is not always accompanied by sufficient psychotherapy and support for families.
Danish Economics HQ
Our money
📉 Welcome news for your wallet: inflation in Denmark fell to 1.7% in July. The decline comes despite higher global energy prices. There is particularly good news at the supermarket: dairy products such as butter, milk, and cheese have become around 10% cheaper recently. Housing costs remain one of the main forces pushing inflation upwards, while holiday home rentals and package holidays became noticeably more expensive. Lucky for us, Denmark has one of the lowest inflation rates in the EU.
State of the markets
🏠 House prices are rising across almost all of Denmark, with the average increase approaching 10% over the past year. According to Boligsiden, prices for houses have fallen in only eight of the 98 municipalities, while some of the strongest increases are now being seen in places such as Billund and other parts of Southern and Western Jutland. One explanation is that buyers are looking further away from the most expensive cities. Copenhagen illustrates why: apartment prices are still around 21% higher than a year ago, although the market finally appears to be cooling. In other words, Denmark’s housing boom is no longer just a Copenhagen story. See the situation in your municipality here.
🐟 Denmark could get a tuna fishing industry again after bluefin tuna returned to Danish waters. The species disappeared during the 1960s but began returning around a decade ago, helped by growing stocks of herring and mackerel. Fishing for bluefin tuna is currently prohibited because Denmark does not have a share of the international catch quota, but Environment Minister Marie Reumert Gjerding is open to obtaining a quota, initially for recreational fishing and eventually as part of the overall commercial quota. Fishermen on Læsø see tuna as a possible new source of income, particularly as restrictions have reduced their opportunities to catch Norway lobster.
📮 Copenhagen is dropping Dao as its letter-delivery provider just eight months after the company took over nationwide letter distribution from PostNord. The municipality will terminate its agreement because it says Dao cannot fully meet Copenhagen’s requirements for wages and working conditions throughout its subcontractor chain. Dao rejects that workers are being subjected to social dumping and says it has changed its subcontractor agreements to address the municipality’s concerns. The municipality is now asking Transport Minister Signe Munk for talks on how proper working conditions can be ensured.
Entrepreneurship
🚀 Funding Incubator for Entrepreneurs in Denmark | 💻 Online | 🗓 August 25–September 29, 17:30–20:30 | English | A six-week practical program helping entrepreneurs understand Danish and EU funding opportunities and build a funding strategy. Participants will work hands-on with finding grants, writing funding applications, preparing budgets, combining grants with private investment, and pitching their businesses.
📦 New EU packaging rules have come into force, but small businesses say they were given too little time to prepare. The new requirements cover how companies document and report packaging, including rules on materials and harmful substances such as PFAS and heavy metals. A 70-page guidance document was only published on August 3, just nine days before the rules took effect, prompting criticism over the administrative burden on smaller businesses. The Danish Energy Agency acknowledges that companies need time to adapt and says initial inspections will focus on guidance, with some flexibility while businesses adjust.
International Community HQ
🇬🇱 Greenland increasingly relies on workers from the Philippines and Thailand to keep hotels and other businesses running. Around 1,300 Filipino citizens now live in Greenland, compared with roughly 160 a decade ago, alongside around 460 Thais. Together, Southeast Asian workers have become a visible part of a territory with only about 57,000 inhabitants. The reason is straightforward: Greenland has a serious labor shortage, driven by an aging population and young people moving away. International workers are now found across hospitality, retail, fisheries, and even healthcare, and people from outside Greenlandic backgrounds account for 13% of the workforce.
Community Noticeboard
👨🍼ParentLab Salon | 📍25Hours Hotel, Copenhagen | 🗓 August 23, 12:00-13:30 and more | Baby-friendly parent-focused conversations in English (sign up).
🥂 Aalborg Summer Gala | 📍Hadsundvej 25, Aalborg | 🗓 August 29, 18:00–21:00 | Free | A stylish evening bringing newcomers and long-time Aalborg residents together, with an open bar, cultural performances, art, and a celebration of community and European spirit (registration required).
➕ Hosting something relevant to internationals in Denmark? Send it to us at noticeboard@lwid.dk
Denmark in Global Headlines
🛢️ Greenland forces Trump-linked US oil firm to delay drilling - The Guardian
📡 Denmark records record GPS disruptions near Bornholm as Baltic interference intensifies - EUalive
👑 Denmark is scrapping royal warrants. Will businesses miss them? (audio) - BBC
🏛️ Lost monastic complex discovered in Denmark - Heritage Daily