Morning Briefing – Tuesday, October 1

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

Oct 1, 2013

Better sex-ed can cut abortion rate
Despite evidence that improved sexual education at schools can help reduce the abortion rate, educators say they have no plans to offer more formalised classes about how to prevent unwanted pregnancies. The number of abortions has remained steady at about 16,000 per year in recent years since being legalised 40 years ago today, but public health authorities said a greater focus at the school level on unwanted pregnancy would go a long way toward reducing the number. Jakob Birkler, a member of Etisk Råd, parliament’s advisory board on ethical issues, said better access to contraception, as well as information about adoption and living with a handicapped child would also help reduce the abortion rate. – Kristeligt Dagblad

No more stimulus
Making it easier for all companies to borrow money is better than passing industry-specific stimulus packages, according to the economy minister, Margrethe Vestager. Her statement came after calls by a number of industries to help along the fledgling recovery by targeting assistance to industries in most need of help. Vestager said, however, that it was impossible to fine tune aid so it helped at the desired level. She added that there was currently enough positive economic data to indicate that the recession was winding down and that further stimulus would not be necessary. – Erhverv & Økonomi

Polish embassy fires back after allegations
Poland’s ambassador to Denmark says his country is doing precisely as the EU asked it to when it gives advice to Polish firms for how best to compete in Denmark. The embassy came under fire last month, after it was reported that its guidelines for Polish firms allegedly included a warning to avoid unions. Rafal Wisnewski said the translation of the guidelines was incorrect, but added that the embassy would change the wording so it was clearer. Wisnewski said the embassy would also continue to advise companies about how best to do business, and that that should contact an employer organisation before they spoke with unions. – Berlingske

EU battles can shake up political landscape
As a new season of parliament opens today, PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt should be ready to deal with a number of EU issues that could wind up reshaping the political landscape ahead of the next election. Some pro-EU parties have expressed their scepticism of the proposed EU patent court and a banking union, both of which would require a parliamentary supermajority or a referendum to pass. Neither is likely given the current situation, but that may change if Dansk Folkeparti, traditionally staunch eurosceptics, continues to take a more pragmatic tack towards EU issues. The right-wing opposition party’s warming attitude toward the EU could make it possible for it to partner with fellow opposition party Venstre to form a government after the next election. – Mandag Morgen

Database delayed is justice denied
The courts are putting people’s legal rights in jeopardy by failing in their efforts to create a database of court decisions that can be used by lawyers preparing for legal proceedings, legal experts say. Creating the system, according to Michael Gøtze, of the University of Copenhagen, would make it easier for small law firms to find precedent-setting cases, while at the same time providing a central location for all legal decisions, something that doesn’t exist today. The online database should have been available in 2009, but according to Domstolsstyrelsen, which manages the court system, other computer projects have come up in the meantime that have delayed its launch. Financing, according to Merethe Eckhardt, the organisation’s head of technology, has also been hard to come by. – Politiken

Gambling investigation violated data secrecy rules
The national gaming and lottery authority is being accused of violating data protection regulations after it last year turned over the names of two people involved in illegal betting. The two were allegedly involved in a case of match fixing and had their names passed on to DBU, Danish football’s governing body, even though both organisations knew it was not permitted because they had placed their bets online. – Jyllands-Posten

Editorial Excerpt | October ‘43
Denmark has good reason to be proud [of its efforts aid the flight of the country’s Jews to Sweden 70 years ago today]. Even though the fishermen who sailed the families across have been criticised for the amount of money some charged, and even though there were a few rotten apples among the Danes who snitched to the occupying forces, it is still unique that the Danes, by and large, were able to protect a threatened group living among them. Outside Denmark, this popular effort has attracted enormous attention. It’s not hard to understand why: we all want more solidarity and to create a society that encourages the individual to act in the interest of the common good. – Politiken

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