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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Tuesday

Find out what's going on in Denmark today with The Local's short roundup of the news in less than five minutes.

Published: 9 November 2021 09:36 CET
The coronapas is set for a comeback at Denmark's restaurants, bars and at large events, two months after earlier rules were lifted.
The coronapas is set for a comeback at Denmark's restaurants, bars and at large events, two months after earlier rules were lifted. Photo: Signe Goldmann/Ritzau Scanpix

Parliament committee likely to green light government call for coronapas

The government last night announced it wants to reintroduce rules requiring a valid coronapas (Covid-19 health pass) at bars, restaurants, nightclubs and large events, amid surging cases of the coronavirus in Denmark.

Covid-19 will again be classified as a critical threat to society, a status it had until September this year.

READ ALSO: Danish government confirms plan to reintroduce coronapas

Parliament’s epidemic committee is scheduled to meet this morning to discuss the issue. For the status of Covid-19 to be changed to critical, and for coronapas rules to be reimplemented, a majority in parliament must not oppose the change.

As such, the committee, which has representation from all of the parliamentary parties, has a key role in enabling the coronapas to be reinstated.

The government’s left wing allies – the Red Green Alliance, Social Liberal and Socialist People’s parties – confirmed late on Monday they backed the government’s intention to upgrade Covid-19 to “critical threat” status, meaning it will get the overall support of the committee barring unforeseen developments.

Majority support for the coronapas also looks a foregone conclusion, with the opposition Liberal (Venstre) party confirming to broadcaster DR it is in support of both decisions.

We’ll publish new articles with any developments on our website today.

Outdoor voting to be offered at local elections

Provisions to cast a ballot outdoors will be made available at next week’s municipal and regional elections for those who feel uncomfortable with doing so inside due to the current high incidence of Covid-19.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed at a press briefing on Monday that outdoors voting would be offered at poll stations across the country for the November 16th elections.

She also said poll stations would ensure adequate cleaning and that hand sanitizer was available.

“You are also welcome to bring a facemask and your own pen, if you are most comfortable with this,” Frederiksen said.

Over 400,000 foreign nationals, including non-EU citizens, are eligible to vote in the local elections.

READ ALSO:

Exports hit record level in September

Exports of goods and services from Denmark were at their highest ever level in September and 4.6 percent higher than in August, according to new Statistics Denmark figures.

The transport sector, in which Maersk is a huge contributor to Danish export revenues, played a large role in the growth, news wire Ritzau reports.

Member comments

  1. please let parliament vote for the return of the coronapas, i know of a few people who frequent my local bar that hav`nt been vaccinated. dont get me wrong, i do believe this is the choice of each individual but i think common sense prevails here. after all it is fact that the vaccination does slow down the spread of covid 19…..

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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Tuesday

Right wing party defends use of Mette Frederiksen deepfake, parties want mink breeder compensation cut, Billie Eilish announces Royal Arena concerts and more news from Denmark on Tuesday.

Published: 30 April 2024 08:05 CEST
Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Tuesday

Party criticised over deepfake satire video of prime minister 

The far-right Danish People’s Party (DF) has been criticised for sharing a video that uses ‘deepfake’ techniques to misrepresent Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

In the video, Frederiksen is made to appear as if she is saying the government plans to cancel Christmas, Easter and Pentecost holidays after already scrapping Great Prayer Day.

A small stamp is visible in the corner of the video signalling that it is not real footage of Frederiksen.

The centre-left Socialist People’s Party (SF) and the Liberal (Venstre) party, a partner in the coalition government, have both criticised the video.

“DF’s AI video of the prime minister is very funny in terms of content, but a political party using deepfakes is extremely concerning and I don’t think DF actually understands the potential for (ab)use of deepfakes,” SF’s digital spokesperson Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen tweeted.

DF leader Morten Messerschmidt has rejected the criticism, saying the video was clearly meant as satire.

Vocabulary: satirisk – satirical

Politicians call for lower compensation price for mink skins

SF and the Social Liberal (Radikale Venstre) want the state compensation mink fur farmers to be renegotiated. Both parties voted for the compensation plan in 2021.

The parties new positions come after a commission concluded that the most realistic unit price of a mink fur is lower than the price used to set compensation, media Zetland writes based on a leaked document.

The Social Liberal food spokesperson Christian Friis Bach called the issue a “scandal” in comments to Zetland.

Mink breeders receive compensation based on a price of 333 kroner per skin, while the commission has ruled that the most likely price is 247 kroner.

READ ALSO: Danish mink fur breeders received ‘too much compensation’

Vocabulary: afgørelse – ruling

Billie Eilish to play two concerts in Copenhagen in 2025

One of the world’s biggest names in pop music will play to fans in Copenhagen next year after Billie Eilish announced two dates at the capital’s Royal Arena almost a year to the day, on April 28th and 29th 2025.

The concerts, confirmed by Live Nation Denmark in a press release, are part of Eilish’s upcoming world tour “Hit Me Hard and Soft”, in which she will play across Europe as well as in Australia and the United States.

Ticket sales for the two concerts will begin on Friday, according to the press release, with prices starting at 440 kroner.

Vocabulary: verdensstjerne – international star/celebrity

Foreign workers in Denmark ‘create 300 billion kroner of value’

Almost one in eight people in paid employment in Denmark is a foreign national, meaning workers from abroad create a huge amount of value for the country, the Confederation of Danish Industry said in a new analysis.

Based on Statistics Denmark data DI found that, between 2013 and 2023, the number of foreign nationals working full-time in paid employment in Denmark increased from 147,000 to 309,000.

The 2023 level is equivalent to 13 percent of overall employment in Denmark being attributable to foreign labour, DI said.

“You cannot overestimate the importance of international labour in Denmark,” DI’s deputy director Steen Nielsen said in a statement.

“If they had not been here and made the contribution they do, we’d not have been able to produce goods, treat the sick or build the amount of houses we need,” he said.

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