Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

For members

TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Monday

September summer comes to abrupt end, accident at chemistry show, new citizens at Danish parliament and more news from Denmark this Monday.

Published: 9 September 2024 07:22 CEST

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Monday

New citizens take part in a quintessentially Danish ‘fællessang’, at the annual citizenship day. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

Downpours and thunder mark the arrival of autumn

After a weekend firmly belonging to summer, autumn has now arrived according to the national meteorological office, DMI.

Much of the country will see downpours and possible thunderstorms today, with temperatures taking a big dip down to 13-17 degrees Celsius, having been in the high twenties on Saturday and Sunday.

The best weather this week is forecast for Friday, which is expected to be mostly dry and sunny and when we may see 20 degrees again.

Four injured in library chemistry show explosion

Three children and an adult were injured on Saturday in an explosion at a chemistry show at a local library in Denmark, police said.

A 22-year-old university student who was carrying out an experiment was seriously injured and taken to hospital, police said in a statement, though his life was not in danger.

Two of the three children suffered “lighter injuries” requiring hospital care, while the third did not need to go to hospital, police added.

More on that story here.

New citizens welcomed at parliament’s ‘Citizenship Day’

Around 1,800 new Danish citizens and their families were in attendance at the annual Statsborgerskabsdag or Citizenship Day at Christiansborg in Copenhagen yesterday.

The event has been held annually by parliament since 2006 as a way of marking naturalised Danes’ entry into Danish society.

Yesterday’s programme included a speech from the speaker of parliament, Søren Gade and live music from musicians from western island Fanø, which has one of Denmark’s few national costumes. Guests were also invited to stand and sing together in chorus – an activity as Danish as any.

Following the event, new citizens were able to visit the parliament chamber itself and meet politicians.

Denmark continue impressive start under new manager

Denmark’s men’s national football team lead the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 4 with six points after beating Serbia 2-0 in Copenhagen on Sunday.

A Yussuf Poulsen bicycle kick and a finish from Albert Grønbæk secured three points for the Danes.

The win makes it two in two from stand-in coach Lars Knudsen, who also oversaw a 2-0 home win over Switzerland on Thursday.

Denmark’s other opponents in the group are European champions Spain.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

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.

SHOW COMMENTS

Url copied to clipboard!