Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Monday
Next year’s budget finalised, snow forecast for this week, beavers block salmon breeding and more news from Denmark on Monday morning.
2024 budget to be presented this morning
The budget for next year has been finalised and will be presented by the government and other signatory parties this morning, Danish media report.
A draft version of the budget was tabled by the government at end of August, with some leeway for negotiation of part of the planned state spending. The degree to which the final version of the budget deviates from the proposal will become clear today.
READ ALSO: What is in Danish government’s proposed budget for 2024?
Only one of the nine opposition parties, the left-wing Red Green Alliance, is not part of the final budget, meaning it has broad parliamentary support.
Vocabulary: finanslov – budget
Snowy Sunday sets tone for wintry week
If, like me, you returned home to be greeted by a layer of snow yesterday evening, you’ll already have had a taste of the weather forecast for much of this week.
“We are taking a trip into the freezer,” as DMI meteorologist Mette Zhang puts it in comments to news wire Ritzau this morning.
Various amounts of snow are forecast in almost all of Denmark this week, particularly ion coastal areas where winds will push the temperature downwards.
Monday will bring a mix of clear weather and greyer skies in some areas, which will likely bring snow and sleet. The temperature will be between freezing and 3 degrees Celsius – a pattern that is likely to continue in the coming days.
“Temperatures will probably go the wrong way in many people’s view, being broadly under freezing around the clock,” Zhang said.
Vocabulary: fryseren – the freezer
Beavers cause havoc for fish in West Jutland waterway
A growing population of beavers has dammed waterways near Klosterheden in West Jutland, to such an extent that local authorities have urged Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke to assist, Ritzau reports.
Almost 25 years ago, 18 of the animals were released into the wild in the area, and their descendants have become so numerous that the dam-building creatures are now interfering with fish habitats.
“We have found that beavers are stopping fish from getting to breeding grounds and we would therefore like permission to move or remove some beavers,” the elected climate official with Holstebro Municipality, Karsten Filsø, said.
The number of salmon and trout in the Storå waterway has receded in recent years, the municipality said.
Vocabulary: fortænder – front teeth
Party wants parliamentary committee to have more bite over intelligence agencies
Parliament should have more clout when it comes to oversight over the two Danish intelligence services PET and FE, according to opposition party the Socialist People’s Party (SF).
The intelligence services have been prominent in two controversial court cases this year: one involving a man jailed for joining Islamic State (Isis) who wanted the agencies to admit he was an undercover agent; and one in which prosecutors abandoned a case against an ex-minister and a former FE director for allegedly revealing state secrets.
“As things are now, the committee does not have any recourse and the only thing the committee can do is listen to what is submitted,” says justice spokesperson Karina Lorentzen Dehnhardt, a member of the committee for SF, said to Ritzau.
“I think it would increase confidence in the services to know that there are members of parliament who have the authority to initiate an investigation,” she said.
Vocabulary: at styrke – to strengthen
Comments
See Also
2024 budget to be presented this morning
The budget for next year has been finalised and will be presented by the government and other signatory parties this morning, Danish media report.
A draft version of the budget was tabled by the government at end of August, with some leeway for negotiation of part of the planned state spending. The degree to which the final version of the budget deviates from the proposal will become clear today.
READ ALSO: What is in Danish government’s proposed budget for 2024?
Only one of the nine opposition parties, the left-wing Red Green Alliance, is not part of the final budget, meaning it has broad parliamentary support.
Vocabulary: finanslov – budget
Snowy Sunday sets tone for wintry week
If, like me, you returned home to be greeted by a layer of snow yesterday evening, you’ll already have had a taste of the weather forecast for much of this week.
“We are taking a trip into the freezer,” as DMI meteorologist Mette Zhang puts it in comments to news wire Ritzau this morning.
Various amounts of snow are forecast in almost all of Denmark this week, particularly ion coastal areas where winds will push the temperature downwards.
Monday will bring a mix of clear weather and greyer skies in some areas, which will likely bring snow and sleet. The temperature will be between freezing and 3 degrees Celsius – a pattern that is likely to continue in the coming days.
“Temperatures will probably go the wrong way in many people’s view, being broadly under freezing around the clock,” Zhang said.
Vocabulary: fryseren – the freezer
Beavers cause havoc for fish in West Jutland waterway
A growing population of beavers has dammed waterways near Klosterheden in West Jutland, to such an extent that local authorities have urged Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke to assist, Ritzau reports.
Almost 25 years ago, 18 of the animals were released into the wild in the area, and their descendants have become so numerous that the dam-building creatures are now interfering with fish habitats.
“We have found that beavers are stopping fish from getting to breeding grounds and we would therefore like permission to move or remove some beavers,” the elected climate official with Holstebro Municipality, Karsten Filsø, said.
The number of salmon and trout in the Storå waterway has receded in recent years, the municipality said.
Vocabulary: fortænder – front teeth
Party wants parliamentary committee to have more bite over intelligence agencies
Parliament should have more clout when it comes to oversight over the two Danish intelligence services PET and FE, according to opposition party the Socialist People’s Party (SF).
The intelligence services have been prominent in two controversial court cases this year: one involving a man jailed for joining Islamic State (Isis) who wanted the agencies to admit he was an undercover agent; and one in which prosecutors abandoned a case against an ex-minister and a former FE director for allegedly revealing state secrets.
“As things are now, the committee does not have any recourse and the only thing the committee can do is listen to what is submitted,” says justice spokesperson Karina Lorentzen Dehnhardt, a member of the committee for SF, said to Ritzau.
“I think it would increase confidence in the services to know that there are members of parliament who have the authority to initiate an investigation,” she said.
Vocabulary: at styrke – to strengthen
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.