Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Thursday

Government supports proposal to ban flying of foreign flags 

The government in favour of a proposed law change which would create specific rules against flying a foreign flag.

Any law is unlikely to be in place by the summer, however, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told news wire Ritzau.

There may also be certain exceptions, such as the German minority population near the border being permitted to fly the German flag, or other situations and occasions where local authorities may be permitted to apply from exemption from the law.

Denmark has previously had laws in place which have prevented individuals and businesses from flying the flags of other countries, but a Supreme Court case eventually set a precedent that means it is not necessarily illegal to do so under existing laws.

Vocabulary: at flage – to fly a flag 

Inflation stable going into new year

Statistics Denmark data shows that inflation at the end of last year was stable and at a low level. The inflation rate was 0.7 percent in December, up 0.1 percent from the previous month.

Core inflation – which does not include energy and raw food prices and thereby indicates how far inflation has spread into the economy – was down, from 3 percent to 2.6 percent.

That is a particularly positive sign, senior economist Allan Sørensen of the Confederation of Danish Industry told Ritzau.

“Core inflation is back under 3 percent for the first time since the start of 2022. It’s still a bit too high but the direction is certainly the right one,” he said.

Vocabulary: kerneinflation – core inflation

Government adjusts calculation of CO2 emissions from soils

A calculation of Denmark’s emissions of greenhouse gases from low-lying soils has been given a significant adjustment, Climate, Energy and Supplies Minister Lars Aagaard said yesterday.

CO2 emissions from the agricultural land are significantly lower than previously though, he said.

While previous calculations assumed that the soils constantly emit greenhouse gases, they did not take into account that some of the soils that contain CO2 disappear over time.

This means that the Danish greenhouse gas emissions of can be adjusted downwards by around two million tonnes of CO2 in 2022, 2025 and 2030, Aagaard said.

“This new figure makes us very, very sure that we will meet the 2025 [emissions reduction] target,” Aagaard said at a press briefing.

Opposition parties said the government should still be more proactive on climate, regardless of the revised calculation.

“The government is hitting targets not through climate action but with calculations that save it,” said Samira Nawa, climate spokesperson with the Social Liberals.

Vocabulary: beregninger – calculations

Influenza and Covid cases both decline

The number of influenza and Covid-19 cases in Denmark are both declining according to latest figures.

The national infectious disease agency, State Serum Institute (SSI), said it welcome the apparent shift in the infection trends after a winter in which a wave of respiratory infections hit the country.

“The overall picture indicates that most diseases are declining, and you can also tell this in the community right now,” medical consultant and head of department at SSI, Bolette Søborg, told newspaper BT.

Although respiratory diseases now appear to be in retreat, the trend could yet be reversed before winter is over.

Influenza in particular can see a resurgence once the population has returned to schools and workplaces after the Christmas holidays, according to SSI.