Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
MP leaves Moderates after love affair with 15-year-old, some foreigners can work 15 days without permit and other news from Denmark on Monday.
Danish MP leaves party over relationship with 15-year-old girl
The Danish MP Mike Villa Fonseca has left the Moderate Party and gone on sick leave after reports that he is in a relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
Fonseca told the broadcaster TV2 that he had broken the Moderate Party's code of conduct by dating someone under the age of 18 and intended to sit in parliament as an independent on his return from sick leave.
The 28-year-old politician stressed, however, that his relationship was legal, given that the age of sexual consent in Denmark is 15, even though he reportedly began the relationship when the girl was in Year 8 at school.
His doctor, he said, had advised him to stay home for three weeks. "Then we'll see how I feel in three weeks. Maybe I'll feel better," he told TV2.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the leader of the Moderate Party said on Friday that he had been "speechless" when he learned of Fonseca's relationship.
The Liberal and Social Democrat parties both confirmed over the weekend that they would not be willing to accept Fonseca into their parties.
Danish vocabulary: inden for lovens rammer - within the boundaries of the law
Denmark to allow foreigners to work 'for short periods' without permits
New rules came into force on November 17th that allow foreign citizens to work in Denmark for two periods of 15 days every six months without needing to secure a work or residency permit. There must be a 14-day gap between the two periods.
To be eligible, the foreign worker must be employed by a foreign branch or subsidiary of a company registered in Denmark, which has at least 50 employees.
The foreign worker must also be allowed to enter and reside in Denmark legally, either because they are a citizen of a visa-free company, or because they have been issued a visa to take advantage of the new rule.
In the building and construction, agriculture, forestry and horticulture, cleaning, window cleaning, hotel and restaurant, and freight transport industries, the exemption is only available for medium and high-skill jobs.
Danish vocabulary: en fritagelse - an exemption
Danish emergency services struggling to deal with high water levels
With further heavy rain in Jutland on Sunday, the fire services are searching for a solution to the sheer amount of water that has built up in lakes, streams and ground reservoirs following the wettest October in 25 years.
There are places where the ground is already completely saturated with water, Jesper Hansen, with the East Jutland emergency services, told the Ritzau newswire.
"That is our next problem, because it means that there are not many places where you can pump the water," he said.
"That is why the dialogue with the municipalities is also important, because we cannot keep pumping water. We risk just pumping it around in a ring, where we are simply creating a new problem somewhere else."
Danish vocabulary: oversvømmelser - floods
Danish police investigate car blast in Holbæk
Police in Denmark are investigating an explosion that took place near a car in Holbæk in western Zealand late on on Saturday night.
"It is our impression that this is a targeted attempt to scare a resident at the address. We cannot yet say anything about the motive, but there is no reason to fear that this will spread to other places in Holbæk," Deputy Police Inspector Søren Danielsen said in a press release.
Witnesses have reported seeing two men dressed in dark clothing running towards two cars following the explosion. No one was injured in the blast.
Danish vocabulary: en beboer - a residency
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Danish MP leaves party over relationship with 15-year-old girl
The Danish MP Mike Villa Fonseca has left the Moderate Party and gone on sick leave after reports that he is in a relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
Fonseca told the broadcaster TV2 that he had broken the Moderate Party's code of conduct by dating someone under the age of 18 and intended to sit in parliament as an independent on his return from sick leave.
The 28-year-old politician stressed, however, that his relationship was legal, given that the age of sexual consent in Denmark is 15, even though he reportedly began the relationship when the girl was in Year 8 at school.
His doctor, he said, had advised him to stay home for three weeks. "Then we'll see how I feel in three weeks. Maybe I'll feel better," he told TV2.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the leader of the Moderate Party said on Friday that he had been "speechless" when he learned of Fonseca's relationship.
The Liberal and Social Democrat parties both confirmed over the weekend that they would not be willing to accept Fonseca into their parties.
Danish vocabulary: inden for lovens rammer - within the boundaries of the law
Denmark to allow foreigners to work 'for short periods' without permits
New rules came into force on November 17th that allow foreign citizens to work in Denmark for two periods of 15 days every six months without needing to secure a work or residency permit. There must be a 14-day gap between the two periods.
To be eligible, the foreign worker must be employed by a foreign branch or subsidiary of a company registered in Denmark, which has at least 50 employees.
The foreign worker must also be allowed to enter and reside in Denmark legally, either because they are a citizen of a visa-free company, or because they have been issued a visa to take advantage of the new rule.
In the building and construction, agriculture, forestry and horticulture, cleaning, window cleaning, hotel and restaurant, and freight transport industries, the exemption is only available for medium and high-skill jobs.
Danish vocabulary: en fritagelse - an exemption
Danish emergency services struggling to deal with high water levels
With further heavy rain in Jutland on Sunday, the fire services are searching for a solution to the sheer amount of water that has built up in lakes, streams and ground reservoirs following the wettest October in 25 years.
There are places where the ground is already completely saturated with water, Jesper Hansen, with the East Jutland emergency services, told the Ritzau newswire.
"That is our next problem, because it means that there are not many places where you can pump the water," he said.
"That is why the dialogue with the municipalities is also important, because we cannot keep pumping water. We risk just pumping it around in a ring, where we are simply creating a new problem somewhere else."
Danish vocabulary: oversvømmelser - floods
Danish police investigate car blast in Holbæk
Police in Denmark are investigating an explosion that took place near a car in Holbæk in western Zealand late on on Saturday night.
"It is our impression that this is a targeted attempt to scare a resident at the address. We cannot yet say anything about the motive, but there is no reason to fear that this will spread to other places in Holbæk," Deputy Police Inspector Søren Danielsen said in a press release.
Witnesses have reported seeing two men dressed in dark clothing running towards two cars following the explosion. No one was injured in the blast.
Danish vocabulary: en beboer - a residency
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