Denmark - International Encyclopaedia of Laws

General Introduction 10–1410. The Danish Parliament (Folketinget) is a single chamber system and has 179members, including two members from the Faroe Islands and two from Greenland.Members are elected by proportional representation and serve a term of up to fouryears. In accordance with the constitutionally enshrined principle of cabinet responsibility,the Danish Government is appointed on the basis of a majority of the Membersof Parliament. The Prime Minister is usually the president of the largestpolitical party in the Parliament.11. Traditionally, Denmark had four large political parties: Denmark Right (conservative),Left (liberal), the Social Liberals and the Social Democrats (socialist).All Danish governments have been headed by either the Social Democrats or one ormore of the liberal or right wing parties. However, since the 1960s the number ofparties has, on the whole, increased and at the last parliamentary election in 2007,eight out of nine nominated parties were voted into parliament. Currently, the LiberalParty (headed by Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen) and theSocial Democrats hold the most seats, followed by the Danish People’s Party(renowned for its tough stance on immigration), the Socialist People Party and TheConservatives.12. Denmark’s electoral turnout is reportedly among the highest in Europe.National referendums have numbered seventeen since 1920, with five addressingDenmark’s relationship with the European Economic Community (EEC)/EuropeanUnion (EU) and five concerning the voting age, now set at 18 years.§2. THE DANISH ECONOMIC SYSTEMI. Industries and Trade13. Denmark is a small, free market capitalist economy. Developing away fromits traditional agricultural roots, Danish business structure has transited through anindustrial period to today’s service-dominated society. Sustained growth means thatalmost 75% of Danish workers are employed in the services sector. This is reflectedin Denmark’s leading enterprises: financial and business services, followed by tradeand hotels, then agriculture and fishing. Denmark’s private sector has relatively fewforeign-owned enterprises (making up only 1% of the total number of private sectorenterprises), but their comparatively greater size helps account for a high percentageof the total turnover for Danish businesses. Economic growth is created byproduct innovation and new jobs, and 2005 figures showed a considerable increasein the number of enterprises created. Since 1997, Denmark’s economic growth hasbeen slightly below the EU average.14. A member of the EU since 1973, Denmark is highly dependent on trade.With limited natural resources, Denmark imports raw materials in addition to manyCompetition Law – (February 2011)Denmark – 17