Morning Briefing – Wednesday, September 25

The Copenhagen Post’s daily round-up of the front pages and other major Danish news stories

Sep 25, 2013

Anonymous letter stops Taxgate testimony
Testimony by the final witnesses in the Taxgate hearing has been delayed after the three-judge panel received an anonymous letter reportedly accusing high-ranking members of the Venstre political party of perjury. Venstre leaders, including former PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen, have denied they sought to influence the tax audit of then opposition leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt prior to her 2011 election victory. Taxgate officials have asked the police to investigate who sent the letter, which was unsigned and contained no documentation. The officials said that taken alone the letter would have no influence, but that if its claims could be proved, it would have a “decisive impact” on the hearing’s outcome. – Berlingske

Clerks learn to spot potential terrorists
Secret police agency PET has trained 700 employees in malls and other places considered ‘soft’ terror targets to identify potential attackers. The programme also trains the clerks how to react in the event of an attack similar to the one this weekend that resulted in the deaths of at least 67 people at an upscale mall in Nairobi, Kenya. PET officials recognised that the class might make some attendees uneasy, but said the point was to ensure that they could act calmly in a crisis. – Jyllands-Posten

Green energy growth a concern
As production of renewable energy forms such as wind has increased in the past five years, the nation’s largest power producers have shed 35 percent of their traditional production capacity. Power companies say the reduction is necessary to keep their businesses profitable, but worry that Denmark is now dependent on foreign energy on days when supplies of wind and solar power are at a minimum. Between 2010 and 2012 alone, the amount of electricity generated by wind turbines rose 31 percent, while traditional power plants cut back on their output by 39 percent. – Erhverv & Økonomi

Crouching green dragon
Four years of negotiations have ended with a 20 billion kroner deal that will see Danish firms Danfoss and COWI help 14 Chinese cities reduce their energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The first project under the deal with the Liaoning provincial government was agreed to last year during the state visit of then-Chinese president Hu Jintao and will see the two companies work to reduce the amount of coal used by a power plant in the city of Angang by utilising heat generated at a local steel mill. The project is estimated to cost about 1.5 billion kroner and will save the city an expected 800 million kroner annually after the change. Analysts say there is enormous potential for Danish companies in China as that country seeks to reduce its energy consumption. – Berlingske Business

Editorial Excerpt | The hunt for Syrian fighters
There is good reason to fear that young people who have been fighting in Syria – most of them presumably people with a Middle-Eastern background – will return home to Denmark with military skills and presumably also the will to keep using them. […] Parliament is well within its mandate to force the government to look into ways to tighten laws [that allow them to be prosecuted]. One way could be to get more rebel groups listed as terrorist organisations. – Berlingske

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