Politicians Rally to Reopen Denmark by June as Government Balks
Politicians Rally to Reopen Denmark by June as Government Balks
(Bloomberg) --
Danish lawmakers are pushing Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to open the country’s borders by the end of this month.
“The opening of the border has the biggest impact on the Danish economy,” Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, leader of the Liberals, told reporters. The party joined lawmakers representing a majority in Parliament in a joint statement urging the government to act now.
So far Frederiksen hasn’t said when she’ll be willing to lift the ban. She invited party leaders on Wednesday to negotiate the next steps of the reopening of Denmark, which was among the first to shut down to fight Covid-19.
The borders have been closed since March 14. Frederiksen, who’s also in talks with neighboring Germany, Sweden and Norway about reopening, has said she plans to decide no later than June 1.
Despite facing pressure internally and from Germany, which plans to reopen its borders on June 15, Frederiksen has been reluctant to follow for fear that increased travel would unleash a new wave of Covid-19 cases.
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