Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Monday
A proposal to tighten gun laws after Field's, less plastic on the grocery shelves, and bus routes on the verge of collapse are among the top news stories in Denmark on Monday.
After Field's shooting, a proposal to tighten gun laws
Minister of Justice Mattias Tesfaye believes further restrictions are necessary to prevent mass shootings like the attack on Copenhagen's Field's mall that claimed the lives of three and wounded many more, he tells broadcaster DR Nyheder.
Tesfaye contends that people with serious mental illness — as the Field's shooter had previously been diagnosed with — shouldn't be allowed to purchase high-powered guns.
"There are some legal challenges in simply giving the police access to the health data of all Danes," Tesfaye told DR. "But we are looking at whether the bells could still ring at the police if the weapons come near people with severe mental disorders."
READ MORE: Court remands Copenhagen shooting suspect into psychiatric care
Parliament: as of 2025, manufacturers must pay for single-use plastic waste
A broad majority of Danish parliament has agreed to hold manufacturers accountable for the single-use plastic and packaging they produce.
"The agreement specifically means that it will be the polluter who has to pay for the packaging that ends up in our bins," Minister of the Environment Lea Wermelin tells newswire Ritzau.
"Then we will give manufacturers a clear financial incentive to design greener. The greener you design, the cheaper you get off as a company," she explains.
According to Ritzau, Denmark is late to the party — data from Eurostat show Denmark produces the most waste per capita in all the EU.
Denmark is one of the last countries in the European Union to make producers liable for the plastic waste they produce, and the measure isn't scheduled to go into effect until January 1st, 2025 — the EU deadline for a bloc-wide plastic initiative.
READ MORE: Danes to sort trash into ten types under new green deal
Fifteen percent of Danish bus routes on verge of collapse
Rising gas prices and falling ridership have put unprecedented stress on Denmark's public transportation, the Danish Regions say.
So far in 2022, transport budgets will have to swallow an additional 233 million kroner in costs. At the same time, between 10 and 20 percent fewer Danes are using public transportation since the pandemic began.
One in seven bus routes in the country are at risk of closure without intervention from the federal government, a press release from the Regions says.
Trine Bramsen, minister of transport, insists the government is one hundred percent behind public transport, Ritzau reports. But she says the onus is still on transportation companies, which "will also have to make an effort to get their lost passengers on board."
PM: Money should go to salaried nurses, not temps
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hopes to divert money spent on expensive temporary nurses to salaried nurses working for the public system, she tells newspaper Politiken. It's necessary to attract and retain nurses in the public sector, where nurses are desperately needed, Frederiksen adds.
However, Employment Minister Peter Hummelgaard says they have yet to pin down a specific solution to the problem — instead, they're willing to discuss wages.
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After Field's shooting, a proposal to tighten gun laws
Minister of Justice Mattias Tesfaye believes further restrictions are necessary to prevent mass shootings like the attack on Copenhagen's Field's mall that claimed the lives of three and wounded many more, he tells broadcaster DR Nyheder.
Tesfaye contends that people with serious mental illness — as the Field's shooter had previously been diagnosed with — shouldn't be allowed to purchase high-powered guns.
"There are some legal challenges in simply giving the police access to the health data of all Danes," Tesfaye told DR. "But we are looking at whether the bells could still ring at the police if the weapons come near people with severe mental disorders."
READ MORE: Court remands Copenhagen shooting suspect into psychiatric care
Parliament: as of 2025, manufacturers must pay for single-use plastic waste
A broad majority of Danish parliament has agreed to hold manufacturers accountable for the single-use plastic and packaging they produce.
"The agreement specifically means that it will be the polluter who has to pay for the packaging that ends up in our bins," Minister of the Environment Lea Wermelin tells newswire Ritzau.
"Then we will give manufacturers a clear financial incentive to design greener. The greener you design, the cheaper you get off as a company," she explains.
According to Ritzau, Denmark is late to the party — data from Eurostat show Denmark produces the most waste per capita in all the EU.
Denmark is one of the last countries in the European Union to make producers liable for the plastic waste they produce, and the measure isn't scheduled to go into effect until January 1st, 2025 — the EU deadline for a bloc-wide plastic initiative.
READ MORE: Danes to sort trash into ten types under new green deal
Fifteen percent of Danish bus routes on verge of collapse
Rising gas prices and falling ridership have put unprecedented stress on Denmark's public transportation, the Danish Regions say.
So far in 2022, transport budgets will have to swallow an additional 233 million kroner in costs. At the same time, between 10 and 20 percent fewer Danes are using public transportation since the pandemic began.
One in seven bus routes in the country are at risk of closure without intervention from the federal government, a press release from the Regions says.
Trine Bramsen, minister of transport, insists the government is one hundred percent behind public transport, Ritzau reports. But she says the onus is still on transportation companies, which "will also have to make an effort to get their lost passengers on board."
PM: Money should go to salaried nurses, not temps
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hopes to divert money spent on expensive temporary nurses to salaried nurses working for the public system, she tells newspaper Politiken. It's necessary to attract and retain nurses in the public sector, where nurses are desperately needed, Frederiksen adds.
However, Employment Minister Peter Hummelgaard says they have yet to pin down a specific solution to the problem — instead, they're willing to discuss wages.
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