Morning Briefing – Thursday, November 14

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

Nov 14, 2013

Im’s law I | Action in parliament
A broad majority in parliament agreed last night on the terms of legislation that will give immigrants whose Danish spouses die the same rights as immigrants who become the victims of domestic violence. The changes mean that such immigrants will be permitted to remain in Denmark, even though they do not meet all the criteria for doing so. The law, which will come into effect immediately and include all such cases dating back two years, comes after public outcry over the deportation of Suthida Nielsen and her 7-year-old daughter, Im, to their native Thailand after the death of Nielsen’s husband. The law was agreed by all the parties in parliament except the right-wing Dansk Folkeparti. Read more about Im’s law on cphpost.dk today

Im’s law II | Lawmakers hypocritical
Lawmakers are being hypocritical when they rush to pass legislation that will allow 7-year-old Im Nielsen to return to Denmark, according to the head of Red Barnet, the Danish chapter of Save the Children. “Here you have a charming little girl who we all get weepy over, and then before you know it politicians who for years have been passing increasingly more restrictive immigration laws are falling over themselves trying be the first to say how terrible the situation is,” said Mimi Jakobsen, the organisation’s secretary-general. Cases in which the death of a Danish parent leads to deportation are rare, but there are about 1,000 other cases of children being deported for other reasons, according to Red Barnet. Jakobsen called on parliament to go further than the law agreed on last night to allow Im and her mother to return. She urged parliament to review immigration legislation in order to make sure that it did not put the needs of children at risk. – Berlingske

READ today's Editorial Excerpt ‘Beware hasty legislation’ (below)

A rotten business
Nutritionists are heavily lobbied by the food industry to accept money in return for promoting specific products, allege nutritionists themselves. Many of them accept deals worth up to 25 percent of the sales of the products they promote. The allegations come from Martin Kreutzer, himself a nutritionist, but others in the industry also presented examples of similar offers, including 600,000 kroner for a hidden advertisement for a specific product. Recent high-profile allegations of conflict interest have led other prominent nutritionists to stop serving as experts in the media. In the most notable case, Arne Astrup, of the University of Copenhagen, appeared in the press stating that butter was preferable to margarine. It was later revealed that he serves as consultant to the dairy industry. Astrup maintains his relationship with firms, saying it is better to put his research to use working for companies than to appear in public as an expert. – Jyllands-Posten

Netto seeking new foreign markets
After a successful expansion in Denmark’s near abroad, the owners of the Netto chain of discount grocery stores are looking for new markets where they can expand. Netto has 450 stores in Denmark and 750 outlets in Germany, Poland and Sweden. Dansk Supermarked hopes that it can bring the store’s concept to countries even further afield. “Netto’s concept is highly viable in other countries,” said Per Bank, Dansk Supermarked’s managing director. In Germany, Netto is the only non-German grocery chain, and Bank felt that was an indication of the company’s strength. He did not indicate which countries the company was considering. – Børsen

Editorial Excerpt | Beware hasty legislation
Passing legislation for the benefit of a small group of people should be avoided, as should laws that apply retroactively. In the situation involving 7-year-old Thai girl Im Nielsen, it’s easy to be sympathetic with the decision Wednesday by lawmakers to allow her and her mother to retain their Danish residence. But laws aren’t toys. It should be obvious that if society is to function, laws must be thought out and carefully considered. In the case of the Nielsen family, the Justice Ministry has actually had a year to change the law. Nothing happened until the media got involved. […] Our sympathy lies clearly with Im. Nevertheless, we warn against hastily passing laws aimed at helping one specific family. Laws that aren’t thought all the way through before they are passed can have consequences that no-one can conceive of during the heat of the moment. – Berlingske

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