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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Friday

MP quits party over internal scandal, spate of steering wheel thefts in Aarhus, dream start for new national coach and more news from Denmark this Friday.

Published: 6 September 2024 07:34 CEST
Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Friday
Patrick Dorgu scored Denmark's first goal as the team went on to win 2-0 against Switzerland. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

MP announces he is quitting Moderates on podcast

A lawmaker from the Moderate party, Jeppe Søe, announced on newspaper BT’s “Q&Co” podcast that he is leaving the party.

He called “a week and a half of disgustingness” the reason for his decision.

The party was last Friday reported to work health and safety authorities by former staff over claims of harassment and bullying. Moderate leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen subsequently announced an external psychologist would be brought in to help.

Søe then told media he was not happy with his party’s decision, calling for a full independent inquiry.

“I can’t be a part of this. It’s not possible,” he said on the podcast in response to a question about reports a Moderate representative has contacted the new employer of a former staff member.

Søe was a founding member of the party when it was started by former prime minister Rasmussen in 2021.

Vocabulary: modbydelig – ddisgusting

Steering wheels stolen from dozens of cars in Jutland

A large number of cars in and around Aarhus have been broken into and had their steering wheels stolen. 

The unusual theft type has occurred on 52 occasions since July, East Jutland Police said.

Volkswagen Polo owners have particularly found themselves targeted, but owners of BMWs, Volvos and Fiats have also been on the wrong end of the break-ins.

Police have appealed for witnesses who may have seen or heard something about the thefts, which have happened all over the city including in the Brabrand and Risskov areas.

Earlier this year, a spate of wing mirror thefts in the city was eventually traced to two men from Lithuania, who were arrested in Sweden and charged for several offences.

Vocabulary: rat – steering wheel

Men’s national team take win in first match under stand-in coach

The Danish men’s national team sealed an impressive 2-0 win over Switzerland last night in its first match under new temporary coach Lars Knudsen.

Patrick Dorgu and captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg scored late goals for the home side in Copenhagen.

Switzerland finished the match with nine men as both Nico Elvedi and Granit Xhaka were sent off in the second half.

“I probably couldn’t have dreamt it better,” Knudsen told DR.

The new coach took the helm last month after Morten Wieghorst withdrew on sick leave due to stress. Wieghorst had himself only just been appointed interim coach following the resignation of Kasper Hjulmand after Euro 2024.

Vocabulary: en drømmestart – a dream start 

Denmark to allow police to use facial recognition

Police are to be allowed to use facial recognition to speed searches for faces and objects in video and image materials when investigating specific cases, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement yesterday.

An agreement between the government, the Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF), the Denmark Democrats and the Conservative party is to allow the new use of technology in law enforcement.

The agreement does not apply to real-time facial recognition.

“The police will initially be able to use facial recognition in cases involving serious violent crime and matters concerning national security,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in the statement.

Denmark has seen an ongoing debate about whether police should be allowed to use facial recognition following a spate of gang-linked shootings involving teenage suspects from Sweden.

Vocabulary: ansigtsgenkendelse – facial recognition 

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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Wednesday

Government could create new 'mega-region', new SAS routes, Moderate party offers severance to staff and more news from Denmark this Wednesday.

Published: 18 September 2024 07:33 CEST
Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Wednesday

Government wants to merge regions

The government plans to merge the Zealand and Greater Copenhagen regions into a single “East Denmark” megaregion, reducing the number of regions from five to four, according to reports by broadcasters DR and TV2.

The plan forms part of a health reform which is scheduled to be presented by government leadership this morning. The Moderate party, a member of the coalition government, has previously favoured abolishing the regions. 

Regions – and their elected boards – administrate public hospitals and the GP system. They also orchestrate regional mass transit and manage initiatives to create economic growth.

The new East Denmark Region would result in a significant size disparity between the regions. For example, Region North Jutland covers only 10 percent of the population, while the new megaregion would have 2,741,728 residents and encompass nearly half of Denmark’s population.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between a municipality and a region in Denmark?

Vocabulary: at sammenlægge – to merge

Airline SAS announces 15 new routes from Copenhagen in expansion strategy

Scandinavian airline SAS is to open 15 new routes from Copenhagen from summer 2025 and aims to establish an international hub in the Danish capital, the company said in a press statement this morning.

Next summer’s services from Copenhagen Airport will include destinations such as Krakow in Poland, Madrid in Spain, Budapest in Hungary, and Malta. Domestic flights between Copenhagen and Billund will be reinstated after a five-year hiatus.

SAS revealed yesterday that it will resume long-haul flights to Seattle in the United States, after a 16-year break, as part of its new summer schedule starting on March 30th next year.

The new routes are part of a fresh start for SAS following its recent official exit from bankruptcy protection and change of ownership.

READ ALSO: Airline SAS announces end of restructuring and leaves bankruptcy protection

Vocabulary: ruter – routes/services (on transport)

Moderate party offers staff severance in return for silence

Employees of the Moderate party are being offered severance packages that include a confidentiality clause and have until Thursday to sign if they wish to accept the offer, according to reports by newspaper Ekstra Bladet.

A number of current and former employees of the coalition party last month filed a complaint with the Danish Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet), describing a culture of bullying and harassment at their workplace.

The severance option was subsequently offered during a nine-hour crisis meeting which took place two weeks ago and has since been negotiated with Djøf, the trade union which represents most of the employees, Ekstra Bladet writes.

Internal disagreements over the way the issue was handled by party leadership have led to one of its MPs, Jeppe Søe, quitting the party and becoming an independent lawmaker.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s Moderate party thrown into chaos by whistleblowers

Vocabulary: fratrædelse – severance

EU court hears Danish plea to annull EU minimum wage directive

The EU court on Tuesday heard Denmark’s call for it to annull the EU’s minimum wage directive on the grounds that it contravenes the EU Treaty.

The hearing began at 9am in the Grand Chamber of the EU Court of Justice, with Denmark arguing that when they adopted the directive in 2022, the EU Parliament and EU Council were in breach of Article 153 (5), which states that the EU’s right to legislate over social policy “shall not apply to pay, the right of association, the right to strike or the right to impose lock-outs”. 

“I am pleased that the European Court of Justice will be given the opportunity to assess the case. This is a matter of principle,” Denmark’s employment minister, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, said in a press statement on the hearing.

“The government, a broad majority in the Danish Parliament and the social partners have been against the EU’s minimum wage directive from the start. We are adamant that wage formation must take place in Denmark and not in the EU. We have 125 years of good experience in leaving the negotiations on wages and working conditions to the parties,” she added.

More on that story here. 

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