2023-06-07 16:37:42
A majority of the parties in Copenhagen’s city council have agreed to work together on a budget for the next two years, with the Red-Green Alliance and Alternative parties cut out of the deal.
The deal was struck between the Social Democrats, the Conservatives, the Socialist People’s Party, the Social Liberal Party, the Liberal Party, the Liberal Alliance and the Danish People’s Party.
The parties have yet to agree on the final details, with the 2024 budget to be hashed out between the parties over the next three months.
Municipal budgets in local Danish authorities usually only cover one year at a time, meaning the agreement to put in place a financial plan for 2024 and 2025 is an unusual one. According to the parties, the deal will “create peace and security about the capital’s development”.
The deal leaves the left-wing Red-Green Alliance, the largest party in the city government, outside of forthcoming spending plans for the city.
When the 2023 budget was agreed last year, the Social Democrats – who count Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen among their number – were bypassed by the other parties in the city government. This year sees the Red-Green Alliance, an influential party in the Copenhagen administration having won the largest number of seats in 2021 local elections, suffer a similar loss of input.
According to a statement published on the Copenhagen Municipality website, the seven parties have agreed to “prioritise more Metro and expansion of infrastructure in Copenhagen by 6.3 billion kroner up to 2035”.
“This is a budget where we start by setting aside 6.3 billion kroner for building more Metro in Copenhagen,” Andersen said at a briefing at which the deal was presented.
Municipal tax or municipal tax is meanwhile likely to be reduced in Copenhagen once the budget is finalised, according to the text of the agreement.
READ ALSO: Does Denmark really have the highest tax in the world?
The parties behind the deal “agree that Copenhagen Municipality will reduce the income tax by 0.1 percent from 23.7 to 23.6” in 2024, it states.
A similar 0.1 percent-point reduction will also be implemented in 2025 “if all other things are equal”, it also said.
One of the parties – the Socialist People’s Party – is not involved in this element of the agreement.
The agreement also includes pledges to cut CO2 emissions in Copenhagen Municipality while also increasing the number of parking spaces.
Among other things, more solar panels could be placed on the roofs of municipal buildings, CO2 capture technology could be invested in and bicycle lanes could be extended and improved. While none of these initiatives are secured by the agreement, the parties in the city government have promised to look at ways to implement them.
Similarly, the agreement sets out a promise to look into ways to increase municipal sports facilities. “Copenhagen Municipality is one of the municipalities in the country with fewest sports facilities per resident,” it states.
Recruitment and spending on welfare, including childcare facilities are also named in the agreement.
“Copenhagen, like the rest of Denmark faces major challenges with retention and recruitment of [welfare] staff, declining well-being for children and young people and additional costs for special teaching in special social areas,” the statement said.
“These are welfare challenges that demand action here and now,” it said.
#Dozens #cars #left #flat #tyres #Copenhagen #apparent #climate #protest