Denmark 2018

The population of Denmark in 2018 was estimated to be around 5.7 million people. The majority of the population is comprised of people between the ages of 25 and 64, making it one of the oldest countries in Europe. The economy is highly developed and diversified, with services accounting for approximately three quarters of GDP. The country also has a strong manufacturing industry, with exports including pharmaceuticals, machinery, electronics, renewable energy technology and food products. In terms of foreign relations, Denmark is a member of the European Union and NATO and maintains strong relations with its Scandinavian neighbors as well as other European countries. According to extrareference, Denmark has a stable parliamentary democracy with proportional representation and coalition governments that have been able to maintain broad public support over time. In 2018, the ruling centre-right coalition government was re-elected for a third consecutive term after winning 47% of the popular vote in parliamentary elections held that summer.

Yearbook 2018

Denmark. The canning ban and ghetto laws were widely debated and criticized during the year. In February, the Danish government suggested that it would be prohibited to wear burka, niqab or other clothing that covers the face in public places. It also includes loose beards, masks and helmets. Exceptions include Santa’s mask at Christmas time and covering the face with a scarf if it is cold. Violations of this law may result in fines of between 1,000 and 10,000 Danish kroner. On May 31, the Folketing voted for such a ban. According to Countryaah.com, Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark, a country located in Northern Europe. 75 members voted in favor and 30 against the proposal. The law came into force on August 1. The Danish police were commissioned to decide on a case-by-case basis whether a cover should be considered illegal or not. Already on August 4, a 28-year-old woman with niqab was fined and in early September a Turkish tourist who was unfamiliar with the new law was fined.

• According to Abbreviationfinder: DMK is an three letter acronym for Denmark.

In January, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen presented the so-called ghetto laws with the aim of combating the parallel society that has emerged in what are called particularly vulnerable areas. In principle, this means that these ghettos should be “decommissioned, the concrete broken up and the residents spread out over different areas”, according to Rasmussen. These are 22 areas that have been classified as particularly vulnerable, ie areas with high unemployment and crime, and with a large proportion of residents with foreign backgrounds. In addition to demolishing and building new ones, special zones will be established where the penalty for crime is doubled. In addition, children in these areas will be forced to attend preschool from one year of age in order to learn the Danish language and embrace Danish values and traditions.

In mid-January, submarine builder Peter Madsen was indicted for the August 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall. According to the prosecutor, Madsen must have planned and prepared the murder as well as been guilty of murder, crimes against marital peace and sexual crimes. At the end of April came the verdict: life imprisonment, which in practice means a time-limited sentence. How the murder went to is not fully investigated, but it is believed that it was done by cutting injuries in the throat or by choking. Madsen appealed to the Østre Landsret (High Court), which in September ruled the life sentence, and in October Madsen announced that he did not intend to appeal to the Supreme Court (Supreme Court).

Since May 1, Minister of Education Søren Pind and Environment Minister Esben Lunde Larsen announced that they are leaving their positions in the government, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen was forced to reform his government. New to the government were Eva Kjer Hansen (Minister of Gender Equality; replaced former Karen Karen Ellemann), Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (Minister of Environment and Food) and Tommy Ahlers (Minister of Education and Research).

In June, the Danish Social Democrats broke up with social-liberal Radical Left after 25 years of cooperation. Now the Social Democrats will go to elections alone. According to party leader Mette Frederiksen, the reason is mainly different views on immigration policy. Frederiksen “wants to lead the Danes in a greener and more just direction, but also to stick to a strict migration policy”. The next parliamentary elections will be held by June 17, 2019.

In mid-February, Prince Henrik, 83, passed away. He was admitted to Rigshospitalet January 28 after falling ill during a visit to Egypt, but spent his last days at Fredensborg Castle in northern Zealand. In June, Princess Elisabeth, also aged 83, died after a long illness. Elisabeth was the cousin of Queen Margrethe II. At the end of September, “Denmark’s national call”, singer and songwriter Kim Larsen, passed away aged 72. At the beginning of the year, he had to cancel a concert tour due to malignant prostate cancer. Kim Larsen broke through 1971 with the rock group Gasolin ‘.

Denmark is investing in green. At the beginning of the year, it was announced that it intends to replace its old diesel trains (IC3 and IC4) with new electric trains. Prior to the procurement, in February, it was assured that it would take a maximum of one hour to travel between the country’s largest cities. In principle, the Folketing has agreed to allocate 11 billion Danish kronor for the purchase of up to 200 electric trains, which hopefully will be able to run for 200 kilometers per hour. In addition, Denmark in 2017 beat the world record in green energy use. This, after calculating that 43.4% of all electricity used in the country came from wind power. If the solar energy is also taken into account, the figure falls to 45.8%.

The Öresund Bridge, the Great Belt Bridge as well as ferry connections and train traffic were closed at the end of September in connection with a major police operation in Denmark. According to the police, it was a serious manhunt, probably with links to terrorism, where a Swedish-registered Volvo was chased after a suspected kidnapping. Later it emerged that Iran’s intelligence service had planned an attack on exile Iranians in Denmark. On October 30, the Danish ambassador to Iran was called home because of the Iranian intervention. Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen also wanted to raise the issue to EU level and impose sanctions on Iran.

Danske Bank’s involvement in the Russian money laundering business continued to grow during the year. According to Berlingske Tidende, the bank’s management was aware of the suspected Russian money laundering in the bank’s Estonian branch as early as 2013. New leaks claim that it is equivalent to SEK 74 billion that was laundered in 2007-15 for officials and criminals from the Russian Federation, Moldova and Azerbaijan in Danske Bank’s branch in Estonia.

The Greenlandic election in April was largely about independence from Denmark. Six out of seven parties want independence, which can only happen if the island becomes financially independent.

Sweden and Denmark will embark on a broader defense cooperation. In May, both countries’ defense ministers Peter Hultqvist and Claus Hjort Frederiksen presented an agreement on the theme “a strengthened Danish-Swedish defense cooperation in the light of the changed threat situation in the Baltic Sea region”. The agreement includes that the Swedish and Danish armed forces must have increased control over military Russian passages via the Öresund, Kattegatt and Skagerrak and that the two countries will be able to fly in each other’s airspace and use each other’s runways at short notice. But you should also carry out joint exercises in, among other places, Skåne.

In May, the so-called Ramadan play came from Foreign and Integration Minister Inger Støjberg. In a debate article in Berlingske Tidende, she wrote that “Ramadan is upon us. Yes, you read right. Ramadan is upon us all, ”claiming that the ongoing Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is affecting the entire Danish society. According to Støjberg, it is not advisable to fast if one is to do his job; In addition, it can be a safety hazard in some cases: “In practice, it can be dangerous for all of us if the bus driver does not eat or drink for a whole day,” she writes in the debate article. Therefore, Støjberg wants Danish Muslims to take time off during Ramadan. Sharp criticism from his own party Venstre did not wait. Party leader Karen Ellemann pointed out that this was not a bill and that the statement was not an official one, neither from the party nor the government. In October, the next play came from Inger Støjberg: Denmark will also not receive any quota refugees next year, ie refugees through the UN program for resettlement. This is despite the fact that asylum immigration to Denmark 2017 was the lowest in nine years. In 2015, Denmark received over 20,000 asylum seekers, the year before that 500 quota refugees per year. The reason for the asylum stop is that many of the refugees cannot support themselves. This is despite the fact that asylum immigration to Denmark 2017 was the lowest in nine years. In 2015, Denmark received over 20,000 asylum seekers, the year before that 500 quota refugees per year. The reason for the asylum stop is that many of the refugees cannot support themselves. This is despite the fact that asylum immigration to Denmark 2017 was the lowest in nine years. In 2015, Denmark received over 20,000 asylum seekers, the year before that 500 quota refugees per year. The reason for the asylum stop is that many of the refugees cannot support themselves.

In November, Denmark decided to stop all arms and military equipment exports to Saudi Arabia. This is because of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. It was also decided to freeze the equivalent of SEK 85 million from its assistance to Tanzania because, as Foreign Minister Ulla Tørnæs put it, a minister in the country made “unacceptable homophobic comments”.

To fight against freedom of expression

In September, the government provided DKK 172 million. over 4 years in additional grant to PET to combat freedom of speech. Officially, government action was aimed at Russia: Russia in particular is using malicious influence campaigns aimed at Western democracies, Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen declared at a press conference. Minister of War Claus Hjort Frederiksen added: We have gradually seen a number of examples of the Kremlin trying to influence democratic elections in the West with campaigns aimed at creating divisions and disagreements in the population.. However, neither of the two ministers was able to provide any examples or evidence of their allegations. The Russian embassy in Denmark issued in June already stated that it had no interest at all in interfering in Danish politics since both government and opposition were equally Russo-phobic. The purpose of the PET grant was to strengthen the surveillance of the media in Denmark and to counter criticism of the country’s right-wing politics. In October, the regime’s fight against freedom of speech continued when Justice Pape proposed a bill of up to 12 years in prison for people who publicly made allegations the state did not agree with. It was sufficient for the regime’s judiciary to claim that the allegations were in another state -for example. Russia’s interest.

In September, the state broke the constitutional provision on freedom of association when it demanded the Loyal to Familia (LTF) association dissolved. This was the first time in Danish legal history that this happened, and marked another step in the dissolution of the rule of law. Precisely at the same time, the Financial Times presented evidence that in 2013 alone, Danske Bank had laundered $ 192 billion. money from criminal activities in its branch in Estonia. Danske Bank’s criminal activities in Estonia were sustained in 2007-15. While the state dissolved the LTF, it also expressed confidence that Danske Bank’s internal investigation into Estonia’s activities would provide clarity on scope and position of responsibility. The deeply criminal bank could thus continue its activities without hindrance. (Scandal hit Danish branch handled $ 30bn of Russian money, Financial Times 4/9 2018)

Later in September, the EU Commission could reveal that Danske Bank’s criminal activities had a far greater scope than previously assumed. The bank’s branch in Estonia had been involved in money laundering for at least DKK 200 billion. €. In the Danish government’s discourse, there was talk of money laundering for “Putin’s friends”. However, it had serious problems explaining that the Russian authorities had already in 2007 warned Dansk Bank of the criminal activities. Warnings that had been ignored. In a democratic rule of law, the authorities would have initiated an in-depth investigation into the largest criminal organization in Danish history. But not in Denmark. On the contrary, a few weeks later the bank was renewed as a state bank. The criminal activities continued. A few weeks later it was revealed, that criminal networks in Europe and the United States had scammed the European tax system for hundreds of billions. DKr. The relatively largest victim was the Danish tax authorities, where the partyLeft over decades has cut back and removed the institution’s control capabilities. (Danske Bank money laundering ‘is biggest scandal in Europe’, Guardian 20/9 2018)

In September, militant opponents of the Tehran clergy attacked a military parade in southern Iran, killing 29. It was this one who was behind the attack. A few weeks later, Denmark struck again. PET and large police forces stopped all traffic at the major bridges. A month later, it was leaked that the campaign was about arresting an Iranian who “planned a terrorist campaign in Denmark”. Denmark and its Foreign Minister took the role of the useful idiot for US and Israeli policy in the Middle East, which is about to undermine Iran – despite the EU’s efforts to maintain the agreement with Iran from 2015. (Iran summons UK, Dutch and Danish envoys over attack on military parade, Guardian 23/9 2018)

In late September, Facebook signed an agreement with the magazine Monday Morning and fact-check of Danish news on Facebook. Monday Morning is part of the Exchange, and although the bourgeoisie in Denmark has lost its total control over the news in the country over the past 20 years, it now has the opportunity to regain this control through censorship. It was the first time since the end of World War II that there was open censorship in the country. (Monday Morning becomes fact check at Facebook, Version 2 27/9 2018)

In May 2019, the parliament strengthened the country’s status as a police state when it passed the CFCS law. The law gives the state “Center for Cyber ​​Security” access to monitor data traffic of businesses and their employees – WITHOUT LAW. With the adoption of the law, the state was given access to read in e.g. mails from and to employees of Danish companies, without a court order. The law thus abolished the letter secret and privacy. The bill was heavily criticized by a wide range of interest organizations. This is contrary to the Constitution, but Denmark has no constitutional court. (CFCS Act passed today: Now employees can get enforced data, Version2 2/5 2019).