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What changes about life in Denmark in 2021
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 28 Dec, 2020 CET.
Updated: Fri 1 Jan 2021 10:48 CET
The new year will bring about a series of changes for those living in Denmark. Here's a roundup of the big ones to look out for.
This article will be updated as we find out more changes in the run-up to the New Year.
Brexit will happen
January 1st is the big Brexit day and all British citizens living in Denmark will now have to apply for residency some time in the year.
To avoid a glut of applications, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration, SIRI) has asked Brits to stagger their applications across the year, depending on their date of birth.
If you were born before 1946, you are supposed to get your application off in January (so hurry up!). For others, we've set out the recommended application dates in this article.
Here's a reminder of some of the other things Brits living and travelling in Europe should know about more generally and here's a summary of some of the unresolved issues from the Brexpats group.
Big Ben, the bell in the tower of Westminster, will bong. Photo: Photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix
Covid-19 lockdown ends
On January 17th, the lockdown imposed in December is scheduled to come to an end, meaning (fingers crossed), the reopening of restaurants, bars, cafes, gyms, sports centres, swimming pools, amusement parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, theatres, cinemas, and libraries.
Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen has, however, opted not to reopen until March 27th.
Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens is not reopening until March 27th. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix
Coronavirus vaccinations to continue
Denmark expects to to receive almost 50,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine a week in the first three weeks of January, with a total of 148,200 doses scheduled to be given in the "first roll-out".
According to state broadcaster DR, the plan is to prioritise the residents of elderly care homes in areas with a high infection rate (who amount to about 30,000 people), relatives and carers of people in risk groups (another 30,000 people), frontline staff in hospitals and care homes in areas with a high infection rate (about 35,000 people).
People over the age of 65 with health problems which make them vulnerable will also be a priority in the first roll out.
A further 2.6m doses of Pfizer's vaccine will then arrive "in a couple of months", according to Thomas Senderovitz, Director of the Danish Medical Agency, allowing everyone else in priority groups to be vaccinated.
Denmark has a pre-purchase agreement with Moderna, meaning it will receive a million doses, perhaps in the next few months. Denmark aims to offer the vaccine to every adult.
Allan Randrup Thomsen, Professor of Virology at Copenhagen University, has told TV2 that he believes it will not be until May that sufficient people had been vaccinated for Denmark to be able to lift restrictions completely.
Will Denmark on be on track to meet its climate goals?
The Danish Council on Climate Change will in February rule on whether Denmark's government's current initiatives are sufficient to put the country on track to meet its climate goal of a 70 percent reduction in emissions by 2030. If it rules against, parliament can vote to force the government to put in place more far reaching actions.
Will Denmark punch above its weight at the UN Climate Change Meeting?
Between November 1st and November 12th, the world's leaders will converge on Glasgow for the COP 26 conference. Denmark, with perhaps the world's most ambitious climate goal, hopes to use its moral weight to encourage other countries with much bigger emissions to follow its lead.
POLITICS:
Local elections
Denmark's 98 municipalities will hold municipal elections on November 16th. Municipalities in Denmark hold elections every four years. One thing to watch is if the New Right (Nya Borgerlige) party, which won just one local seat back in 2017, will see significant growth, or if the Danish People's Party will see a repeat of the dire performance it saw in 2019's general election.
LAWS:
Denmark's new consent law comes into effect
From January 1st, sex that does not have the explicit consent of both parties will be considered rape under law. Read our coverage of the change here.
New cigarette packaging requirements
From 2021, tobacco companies must include a warning on cigarette packaging that cigarette filters contain plastic and can damage the environment.
Ban on mink farming
Denmark's parliament on December 21st voted through a new law banning the farming of mink for the whole of 2021.
EVENTS:
Roskilde Festival -- The biggest rock festival in the Nordics aims to be back from June 26th to July 3rd. It's sold out, suggesting that many Danes believe that it will happen. The US rapper Kendrick Lamar has signed up to play, suggesting he thinks it will too.
WorldPride 2021 - Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö will cohost the international WorldPride gay pride festival between August 12th to August 22nd. Assuming coronavirus is more or less out of the way, you can expect quite a celebration.
Euro 2020 - The Euro 2020 football tournament, postponed by a year last spring, is due to take place in the summer, with Copenhagen hosting four matches: Denmark vs Finland, on June 12th, Denmark vs Belgium, on June 17th, Denmark vs Russia on 21st June, and a match between the runner up of Group D and the runner up of Group E on June 28th.
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This article will be updated as we find out more changes in the run-up to the New Year.
Brexit will happen
January 1st is the big Brexit day and all British citizens living in Denmark will now have to apply for residency some time in the year.
To avoid a glut of applications, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration, SIRI) has asked Brits to stagger their applications across the year, depending on their date of birth.
If you were born before 1946, you are supposed to get your application off in January (so hurry up!). For others, we've set out the recommended application dates in this article.
Here's a reminder of some of the other things Brits living and travelling in Europe should know about more generally and here's a summary of some of the unresolved issues from the Brexpats group.
Big Ben, the bell in the tower of Westminster, will bong. Photo: Photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix
Covid-19 lockdown ends
On January 17th, the lockdown imposed in December is scheduled to come to an end, meaning (fingers crossed), the reopening of restaurants, bars, cafes, gyms, sports centres, swimming pools, amusement parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, theatres, cinemas, and libraries.
Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen has, however, opted not to reopen until March 27th.
Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens is not reopening until March 27th. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix
Coronavirus vaccinations to continue
Denmark expects to to receive almost 50,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine a week in the first three weeks of January, with a total of 148,200 doses scheduled to be given in the "first roll-out".
According to state broadcaster DR, the plan is to prioritise the residents of elderly care homes in areas with a high infection rate (who amount to about 30,000 people), relatives and carers of people in risk groups (another 30,000 people), frontline staff in hospitals and care homes in areas with a high infection rate (about 35,000 people).
People over the age of 65 with health problems which make them vulnerable will also be a priority in the first roll out.
A further 2.6m doses of Pfizer's vaccine will then arrive "in a couple of months", according to Thomas Senderovitz, Director of the Danish Medical Agency, allowing everyone else in priority groups to be vaccinated.
Denmark has a pre-purchase agreement with Moderna, meaning it will receive a million doses, perhaps in the next few months. Denmark aims to offer the vaccine to every adult.
Allan Randrup Thomsen, Professor of Virology at Copenhagen University, has told TV2 that he believes it will not be until May that sufficient people had been vaccinated for Denmark to be able to lift restrictions completely.
Will Denmark on be on track to meet its climate goals?
The Danish Council on Climate Change will in February rule on whether Denmark's government's current initiatives are sufficient to put the country on track to meet its climate goal of a 70 percent reduction in emissions by 2030. If it rules against, parliament can vote to force the government to put in place more far reaching actions.
Will Denmark punch above its weight at the UN Climate Change Meeting?
Between November 1st and November 12th, the world's leaders will converge on Glasgow for the COP 26 conference. Denmark, with perhaps the world's most ambitious climate goal, hopes to use its moral weight to encourage other countries with much bigger emissions to follow its lead.
POLITICS:
Local elections
Denmark's 98 municipalities will hold municipal elections on November 16th. Municipalities in Denmark hold elections every four years. One thing to watch is if the New Right (Nya Borgerlige) party, which won just one local seat back in 2017, will see significant growth, or if the Danish People's Party will see a repeat of the dire performance it saw in 2019's general election.
LAWS:
Denmark's new consent law comes into effect
From January 1st, sex that does not have the explicit consent of both parties will be considered rape under law. Read our coverage of the change here.
New cigarette packaging requirements
From 2021, tobacco companies must include a warning on cigarette packaging that cigarette filters contain plastic and can damage the environment.
Ban on mink farming
Denmark's parliament on December 21st voted through a new law banning the farming of mink for the whole of 2021.
EVENTS:
Roskilde Festival -- The biggest rock festival in the Nordics aims to be back from June 26th to July 3rd. It's sold out, suggesting that many Danes believe that it will happen. The US rapper Kendrick Lamar has signed up to play, suggesting he thinks it will too.
WorldPride 2021 - Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö will cohost the international WorldPride gay pride festival between August 12th to August 22nd. Assuming coronavirus is more or less out of the way, you can expect quite a celebration.
Euro 2020 - The Euro 2020 football tournament, postponed by a year last spring, is due to take place in the summer, with Copenhagen hosting four matches: Denmark vs Finland, on June 12th, Denmark vs Belgium, on June 17th, Denmark vs Russia on 21st June, and a match between the runner up of Group D and the runner up of Group E on June 28th.
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