2022 in Denmark


Events in the year 2022 in Denmark.
The year was dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Denmark took in Ukrainian refugees fleeing the invasion of their country. Danish government sent foreign aid to Ukraine, and condemned and sanctioned Russia for waging the war.
As the rest of Europe and in the world, Denmark continued to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and Deltacron hybrid variant, but much less so than in January 2020 and February 2022. The 2021–2023 inflation surge led to increased prices on many goods. 2022 Danish general election took place on 1 November.

Incumbents

January

  • 14 January
  • * Golden Jubilee of Margrethe II
  • * MP and former defense minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen announces that he has been charged with treason for leaking state secrets. Later in the year, a majority in the Folketing refuses to waive Hjort's parliamentary immunity, meaning the police can't charge him.
  • 23 January – Morten Messerschmidt is elected leader of the Danish People's Party, succeeding Kristian Thulesen Dahl.
  • 24 January - The daily number of COVID-19 Deltacron infections has peaked in Denmark.

    February

  • 1 February – Denmark lifts almost all remaining COVID-19-related restrictions except for face mask rules due to the country's high vaccination rate. Provisions in the Epidemic Law expire, meaning that COVID-19 no longer is classified as a "socially critical illness".
  • 9 February – Queen Margrethe II tested positive for Deltacron hybrid variant of COVID-19.
  • 25 February – Denmark joined Norway and Sweden were transition to the living with COVID-19 endemic phase.
  • 27 February – Russo-Ukrainian War: Three days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, prime minister Mette Frederiksen announces that Denmark will equip Ukraine with 2,700 anti-tank rockets.

    March

  • 5 March – Dansk Melodi Grand Prix: The song "The Show" by Reddi is selected to participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022
  • 6 March – 2022 Danish European Union opt-out referendum: Prime minister Mette Frederiksen, at a press conference with fellow party leaders Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, Sofie Carsten Nielsen, Pia Olsen Dyhr, and Søren Pape Poulsen, announces that the parties have reached an agreement on defense policy. A referendum on the EU defense opt-out will be held on 1 June, and Denmark commits to increasing its NATO contributions to 2% of GDP by 2033.
  • 29 March – Russo-Ukrainian War: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine speaks via video link to the Folketing, explaining the situation in the ongoing war and thanking the people of Denmark for their support.

    April

  • 3 April – Russo-Ukrainian War: After the Bucha massacre makes headlines around the world, Denmark's foreign minister Jeppe Kofod says he supports investigations into whether the things Russian soldiers did in the Ukrainian town constitute war crimes. Later in the year, Kofod hosts an event with his Dutch, German, and Ukrainian colleagues to seek international cooperation on holding any perpetrators accountable for war crimes committed during the invasion.
  • 21 April – Russo-Ukrainian War: Prime ministers Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and Pedro Sánchez of Spain visit Kyiv, Ukraine, to meet president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

    May

  • 4 May
  • *Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, who is visiting Denmark, takes part in a summit in Copenhagen with the prime ministers of the five Nordic countries, including Mette Frederiksen of Denmark. At the end of the summit, the prime ministers issue a joint statement, where they promise increased cooperation and lay out their shared views on international relations, climate change, digitalization, and other matters.
  • *Russo-Ukrainian War: On the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Denmark at the end of World War 2, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine once again speaks to Denmark by video link. This time addressing the Danish people directly, the president draws parallels between World War 2 and the war in Ukraine. He also encourages Danes to light tealights in their windows, this time also in solidarity with Ukraine.
  • 10–14 May – Eurovision Song Contest: The Danish song "The Show" by Reddi is eliminated in the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. In the final, Ukraine gets 12 points from the Danish televote, and Greece gets 12 points from the Danish jury.
  • 18 May – A summit, nicknamed the North Sea Summit, takes place in Esbjerg. Prime minister Mette Frederiksen and energy minister Dan Jørgensen of Denmark play hosts to the heads of government and energy ministers of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the European Commission. The countries agree on the Esbjerg Declaration, in which they promise to increase use of offshore wind power and build more energy islands.
  • 23 May – The first case of monkeypox is detected, bringing the 2022 monkeypox outbreak to Denmark.
  • 28 May – Odense Letbane opens in the city of Odense.

    June

  • 1 June – 2022 Danish European Union opt-out referendum: In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Denmark votes 66.9% in favor of abolishing its EU opt-out on defense matters.
  • 14 June – Canada and Denmark end their competing claims for Hans Island by dividing the island roughly in half, ending what was referred to as the Whisky War.
  • 17 June – A Russian warship briefly enters Danish waters twice, north of the island Bornholm. Folkemødet, an annual political festival on Bornholm, was taking place at the time, and many prominent politicians were in attendance there. Prime minister Mette Frederiksen and foreign minister Jeppe Kofod were both on the island, with the latter calling the breach a "completely unacceptable Russian provocation".
  • 23 June – Former immigration minister Inger Støjberg founds a new political party, the Denmark Democrats. Less than 24 hours later, it already has 40,000 voter declarations, twice the number needed to be eligible for running in the next election.
  • 25 June – The Roskilde Festival returns, after being cancelled for the past two years due to the pandemic. This is the 50th anniversary of the festival.
  • 30 June – Mink case: The Mink Commission hands in its report to the Inquiry Committee of the Folketing. The Commission expresses severe criticism of prime minister Mette Frederiksen, saying that she "grossly misled" the public, but that she didn't knowingly order the culling of the mink without legal authority to do so.

    July

  • 3 July - 2022 Copenhagen mall shooting: Three people are killed and several more are injured in a mass shooting at Field's shopping mall in Copenhagen. Police chief inspector Søren Thomassen announces the arrest of a 22-year-old man, who is later revealed to have mental health issues.
  • 5 July – Mink case: In response to the findings of the Mink Commission, prime minister Mette Frederiksen is given an official reprimand by the Folketing. Members of her own party, the Social Democrats, vote in favor of the reprimand. Former agriculture minister Mogens Jensen is also reprimanded.

    August

  • 8 August – Defense minister Morten Bødskov, along with his colleagues from Norway and Sweden, announce an agreement to increase military cooperation. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, agree that they may use each other's military infrastructure and airspace, and Denmark will station a military attaché in Stockholm. The agreement was reached to counter Russian aggression in the Baltic Sea region, as Russia has violated the territory of both Denmark and Sweden on several occasions in recent years. Bødskov warns that the region "will be marked by higher levels of tension than we have been used to".
  • 9 August – Authorities in Greenland announce that two civilian employees at Thule Air Base have tested positive for monkeypox.
  • 15 August – Conservative People's Party leader Søren Pape Poulsen presents himself as a candidate for prime minister in the next election.

    September

  • 21 September – At the second time, the Royal Household announced that Queen Margrethe II tested positive for COVID-19. She had attended the funeral of Elizabeth II with her son Crown Prince Frederik on the 19th. The queen was previously infected in February.
  • 26–29 September – A series of gas leaks happen at the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Bornholm. Prime minister Mette Frederiksen says that explosions were recorded at both pipelines prior to the leaks, and that Danish authorities suspect sabotage, but wouldn't speculate on who were responsible. The Copenhagen Police opens an investigation of the gas leaks, in collaboration with the National Police, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, and others. The Danish Defence Command sends the frigate Absalon and several other vessels to the area.
  • 28 September – Queen Margrethe II announces changes to the titles of the descendants of her younger son prince Joachim. Effective from 1 January 2023, Joachim's children will no longer be allowed to call themselves prince or princess, but they remain in the line of succession. They will retain the title count or countess of Monpezat, given to both the queen's sons and all of their patrilineal descendants in 2008. Queen Margrethe justified the change for her grandchildren, who range in age from 10 to 23, as allowing them to "shape their own lives to a much greater extent without being limited by ".
  • 29 September
  • * The day after queen Margrethe announced that the children of her son prince Joachim would lose their titles of prince or princess from the new year, Joachim speaks to tabloids B.T. and Ekstra Bladet. He says that he and his immediate family are dismayed, and that his children have had their identity taken from them. According to the prince, the queen shared a plan with him on 5 May under which the children would have lost their titles only when each of them turned 25. Under such a plan, youngest child Athena, age 10, would not have lost her title until 2037.
  • * Russo-Ukrainian War: Prime minister Mette Frederiksen condemns the annexation referendums in four Ukrainian regions orchestrated by president Vladimir Putin of Russia, saying that the referendums "have nothing to do with the will of the people and have no legal effect".