Morning Briefing – Thursday, May 16

The Copenhagen Post’s daily digest of what the Danish press is reporting

Young people too smart

Academics have criticised the government's goal of having 25 percent of every graduating class complete a higher education by 2020, saying that young people are being over-educated. Up to 27 percent of the students who finished ninth grade in 2011 are expected to complete a higher education according to a report compiled by the Education Ministry. – Politiken

Police stymied in Hedegaard investigation

Police have still not made any arrests in the investigation into the assassination attempt on outspoken freedom of speech advocate Lars Hedegaard. Police are still investigating the shooting which occurred 100 days ago today. A slug from a pistol was found lodged in a window pane in Hedegaard’s stairwell, but the gun itself has not been found. Hedegaard was unharmed by the attack. – Berlingske

Education in place of make-work jobs

When left-wing opposition party Enhedslisten (EL) meets with the government today to negotiate a plan for the unemployed who are losing their dagpenge unemployment benefits, they will be prioritising education over council-funded community service positions, so-called nyttejobs. EL said that people will gain more from getting an education than a job created only to keep them busy. – DR News

Historic building on the block

One of the oldest and most renowned buildings in Copenhagen could soon have a new owner for the first time in 150 years. The stock exchange building, Børsen, erected in the 1620s by King Christian IV, has been listed for sale by its owner, Dansk Erhverv, the Danish chamber of commerce. – TV2 News

Vestas attacks US stockholders

Wind turbine producers Vestas has gone on the offensive by challenging a group of US shareholders who sued them claiming the company had committed fraud costing investors billions of kroner. Vestas responded that it cannot be sued for fraud in the US because the company never aggressively sought investors there. – Børsen

Most asylum seekers in ten years

Over 1,900 asylum seekers fled their respective countries to come to Denmark during the first three months of 2013. The Justice Ministry estimated that 7,000 asylum seekers would arrive this year, adding up to the highest number since 2001, when over 12,000 people sought asylum. Right-wing Dansk Folkeparti attributed lax social welfare policies as the reason for the rise. – Kristeligt Dagblad

Cars pollute more than diesel trains

The air along the most heavily polluted railways is cleaner than along the busiest roads, according to an Aarhus University report. In one example cited in the study, nitrogen oxides levels at Copenhagen's Dybbølsbro Station measured less than a third of those on H.C. Andersens Boulevard. – Ingeniøren




  • Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    A Wall Street Journal article describes that the US will now begin spying in Greenland. This worries the Danish foreign minister, who wants an explanation from the US’s leading diplomat. Greenlandic politicians think that Trump’s actions increase the sense of insecurity

  • Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    What do King Frederik X, Queen Mary, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Jaime Lannister have in common? No, this isn’t the start of a very specific Shakespeare-meets-HBO fanfiction — it was just Wednesday night in Denmark

  • Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    For many years, most young people in Denmark have preferred upper secondary school (Gymnasium). Approximately 20 percent of a year group chooses a vocational education. Four out of 10 young people drop out of a vocational education. A bunch of millions aims to change that

  • Beloved culture house saved from closure

    Beloved culture house saved from closure

    At the beginning of April, it was reported that Kapelvej 44, a popular community house situated in Nørrebro, was at risk of closing due to a loss of municipality funding

  • Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    With reforms to tighten the rules for foreigners in Denmark without legal residency, and the approval of a reception package for internationals working in the care sector, internationals have been under the spotlight this week. Mette Frederiksen spoke about both reforms yesterday.

  • Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Currently, around 170 people live on “tolerated stay” in Denmark, a status for people who cannot be deported but are denied residency and basic rights. As SOS Racisme draws a concerning picture of their living conditions in departure centers, such as Kærshovedgård, they also suggest it might be time for Denmark to reinvent its policies on deportation

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