Foreigners could be charged 3000 kroner for a mandatory Danish language test from next year.
Foreigners seeking residency through family reunification may be required to cough up 3000 kroner for a new mandatory Danish language test, reports Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper.
The ‘Immigration Test’ has been in the works since 2006 with several trial tests and reviews being conducted. It will also be mandatory for all religious preachers seeking residency here.
According to the government’s new budget proposal the final version will be ready form early next year. In addition to testing language skills, the exam also requires a residency applicant to know facts about Danish culture and society.
Although it has not yet been ratified by parliament, the Liberal-Conservative government’s proposal reportedly has the support of the Danish People’s Party, which is enough to pass it into law. Marianne Jelved, the Social Liberal integration spokeswoman, was baffled by the cost of taking the test and said her party did not support such immigration procedures.
‘For us it’s more important that Danish residents can live here with their spouses and children,’ she said.
Henriette Kjær, the Conservative immigration spokeswoman, said the test was unlikely to be difficult, rather like mastering ‘tourist Danish’.
But Danish People’s Party MP Jesper Langballe said if the test could cut down the number of immigrants coming to Denmark, then it would serve its purpose.
‘We wouldn’t be sorry if it meant the number of applicants fell,’ he said.
Spouses of Danish citizens who come to Denmark after living in another EU country will be exempt from taking the test.
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Danish-owned wind blade factories in Britain closed after protests
A Danish-owned wind turbine firm closed two factories in Britain Wednesday with the loss of 425 jobs following a two-week 'occupation' by angry workers.
Vestas Wind Systems said it had ceased blade production activities at its sites on the Isle of Wight and in Southampton, southern England, because of lack of demand.
The Danish firm obtained a court order last week to remove six workers who had occupied the Isle of Wight plant for over two weeks to delay its closure.
The decision to close the plants had been 'very difficult,' Ole Borup Jakobsen, president of Vestas Blades, said.
'Nonetheless, this commercial decision was absolutely necessary to secure Vestas's competitiveness and create a regional balance between production and the demand for wind turbines,' he added.
Vestas Wind Systems said it had ceased blade production activities at its sites on the Isle of Wight and in Southampton, southern England, because of lack of demand.
The Danish firm obtained a court order last week to remove six workers who had occupied the Isle of Wight plant for over two weeks to delay its closure.
The decision to close the plants had been 'very difficult,' Ole Borup Jakobsen, president of Vestas Blades, said.
'Nonetheless, this commercial decision was absolutely necessary to secure Vestas's competitiveness and create a regional balance between production and the demand for wind turbines,' he added.
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Men with livelier, more plentiful sperm live longer
Healthier sperm may mean longer life, according to a study that followed more than 40,000 Danish men for up to 40 years.
Dr. Tina Kold Jensen, who was involved in the study, said: "No matter what you look at, the risk of dying is decreased if you have a good semen quality compared to low; the poorer the semen quality, the higher the risk of dying."
While the findings shouldn't scare men whose semen quality isn't tip-top, they do suggest that these men should be checked out for other illnesses, especially testicular cancer, said Jensen, of the University of Southern Denmark in Odense.
Male infertility has become increasingly common over the past 50 years, Jensen and her team point out in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and some investigators have suggested that abnormal development of male reproductive organs in the womb could be responsible. This "fetal origins hypothesis" has also been tied to widespread illnesses in later life like heart disease and diabetes, they add.
To test the hypothesis that semen quality might therefore be related to illness and death, the researchers looked at men who had been referred to the Copenhagen Sperm Analysis Laboratory between 1963 and 2001, following them through the end of 2001 or until they died. They restricted their analysis to 43,277 men with viable sperm in their semen.
Dr. Tina Kold Jensen, who was involved in the study, said: "No matter what you look at, the risk of dying is decreased if you have a good semen quality compared to low; the poorer the semen quality, the higher the risk of dying."
While the findings shouldn't scare men whose semen quality isn't tip-top, they do suggest that these men should be checked out for other illnesses, especially testicular cancer, said Jensen, of the University of Southern Denmark in Odense.
Male infertility has become increasingly common over the past 50 years, Jensen and her team point out in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and some investigators have suggested that abnormal development of male reproductive organs in the womb could be responsible. This "fetal origins hypothesis" has also been tied to widespread illnesses in later life like heart disease and diabetes, they add.
To test the hypothesis that semen quality might therefore be related to illness and death, the researchers looked at men who had been referred to the Copenhagen Sperm Analysis Laboratory between 1963 and 2001, following them through the end of 2001 or until they died. They restricted their analysis to 43,277 men with viable sperm in their semen.
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