Financial crisis curbs EU fertility rate
The fertility rates in EU member states are once again dropping after being on the rise through most of the past decade. A new report from the EU Commission showed that the expected number of children per woman fell from 1.60 in 2008 to 1.57 in 2011. From 2002 to 2008, that number had increased from 1.46 to 1.6. One demographist argued that the trend was due to the financial and social uncertainty the financial crisis brought to Europe. In Denmark, birth rates also fell, from 1.89 in 2008 to 1.75 in 2011. – Politiken
Opposition rejects 37-hour student week
Opposition party Venstre (V) has rejected the government’s school reform proposal to have 37-hour school weeks for older students in grades seven to nine. Venstre want the students to be in school for a maximum of 35 hours each week and wants school days to last until 3pm instead of the government’s proposed 3:30pm. Venstre’s rejection means that the government doesn’t have the necessary political backing to push through their school day agenda since Dansk Folkeparti (DF) and Konservative (K) have also rejected the plan. – Jyllands-Posten
Greenland looks to export Uranium
Greenland’s newly elected labour and industry minister, Jens-Erik Kirkegaard, has said in an interview that he intends to look into doing away with the nation’s zero tolerance approach to uranium. Kirkegaard argued that Greenland would likely follow in the footsteps of the EU when it comes to uranium and go from the current 60 grammes per tonne (Greenland’s status of zero tolerance) to 1,000 grammes per tonne. Kirkegaard will formally assume his ministerial post tomorrow when the new government assembles. – Ingeniøren
Faroe Islands want help to halt exodus
The Faroe Islands' parliament is meeting today to discuss the continuing exodus of people that will see the island nation's population reduced from 48,000 to 37,000 people in 40 years’ time, a drop of more than 20 percent. It is particularly women who have left the island, leading to a current shortage of nearly 2,000 women. Experts argue that Danish politicians should step in and tackle the issue since most of the islanders leave in order to obtain an education or job in Denmark only to never return. – Kristeligt-Dagblad
