Parliamentary debate on the Danish Commonwealth: – We are ready to step up cooperation

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen again emphasized that the Danish government is ready to invest in Greenlandic society.

There were words of praise for the Greenlandic people from the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen (S), when she stood at the podium in the Folketing on Tuesday for a debate on the realm.

Here, the Prime Minister presented a statement on the Commonwealth and put some words on an unusual year.

– For the past six months, Greenland and the Commonwealth have been subjected to unacceptable pressure from our closest allies for a lifetime. Demands to take over part of our territory, threats of annexation without being able to reject military force.

– I am full of admiration for the Greenlandic people, for the enormous strength you have shown, said Mette Frederiksen.

At the same time, the Prime Minister reiterated that Denmark is ready to invest more in Greenlandic society.

– We are ready to step up cooperation, we are ready to invest in Greenlandic society, and if Greenland wants to reassess the Self-Government Act, we are also prepared to look at it, said Mette Frederiksen.

Respectful

If it is up to the Prime Minister, it is also important that the Kingdom is modernized.

Therefore, the Greenland spokesperson for the Liberal Alliance, Carsten Bach, wanted to hear whether the modernization also applied to foreign policy – whether the Prime Minister envisions that foreign and security policy will eventually be taken over by Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Mette Frederiksen emphasized that it is not Denmark’s desire to change the structure as it is now.

– We are generally happy with the commonwealth that exists, but we try to be respectful in our response when one of the other two countries says there is something here that we want to change, said Mette Frederiksen.

Naalakkersuisoq’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt (S), has repeatedly expressed the desire for Greenland to control the foreign policy agenda.

Will be short of a billion annually

Another topic that filled the parliamentary hall was the healthcare system. According to Aaja Chemnitz, a member of parliament from Inuit Ataqatigiit, the situation in the Greenland healthcare system is worrying, to say the least.

According to the IA politician, there is a great need for more healthcare personnel and a focus on retaining staff.

And there may be a need for Denmark to do more to stabilize the situation.

– Greenland pays around 180 million kroner for the services we buy from the Capital Region, among other things. These are some of the areas that could be looked at to see if Denmark should actually pay a little more.

– One of the things the Health Commission says is that the Greenlandic health system will be short of one billion kroner annually, so that is certainly a major concern and point of attention for IA, said Aaja Chemnitz.