An agreement on compensation has not yet been reached for the Danish mink breeders, who at the beginning of November last year were ordered to kill their mink. This was done to prevent the spread of mutated coronavirus from mink to humans.
Last Sunday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (SocDem) otherwise expressed hope that an agreement could be reached last week, but it did not happen.
The Conservatives’ finance spokesman, Rasmus Jarlov, believes the government is dragging out the negotiations.
– We have a very hard time understanding why it takes so long to get an agreement. We have been ready to negotiate for a long time, but the pace and number of meetings have been very low over the last two months.
– We are waiting to be called, and then we are actually not that far apart.
– I want to believe that as soon as the government starts the negotiations again, we can find each other, he says.
Question: What knobs still need to be planed off in order for you to reach the last?
– We are first and foremost concerned that the few breeders who remain are allowed to continue and can start up again when the corona epidemic comes under control.
– Therefore, we would like a hibernation scheme where they get their costs covered in 2021 and 2022 and then can start up again.
– It will make the compensation less, because it will mean that people do not have to have full compensation, but only have to cover some of their costs in the next few years, says Rasmus Jarlov.
The parties in the Folketing disagree on whether there should be mink breeding in Denmark at all in the future. A political majority has passed a temporary ban on keeping mink. It expires at the end of 2021.
– I do not think there are many good arguments for shutting down the last breeders, says Rasmus Jarlov.
– There are still breeders who want to start up again and who can move animals home from abroad.
– Quite a few have animals left in Denmark as well, and we would like to give them a chance to be able to come again, so that a small remnant of the mink industry can survive, he says.
Negotiations on the payment of compensation have been complicated along the way by waiting for feedback from the EU on, among other things, how much compensation it is possible to award to mink breeders.
In addition, due to illness, Minister of Trade and Industry Simon Kollerup (S) was moved from the Ministry of Business Affairs to the Ministry of Finance, where Minister of Taxation Morten Bødskov (S) is currently the maternity deputy for Minister of Finance Nicolai Wammen (S).
Morten Bødskov rejects that the government deliberately withdraws the negotiations.
– During the recent negotiations, a number of new issues have been raised, which we have examined.
– I have said it before and I would like to repeat that we have to be thorough and make an effort, because it is a serious situation and a lot of money we are talking about.
– But I am also optimistic and believe that an agreement is within reach, the acting Minister of Finance writes in an email.
The Ministry of Finance states that discussions with various parties are scheduled to continue today, Thursday.
Source: The Nordic Page