Today’s news / United opposition calls Løkke in consultation
A story about Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen's actions in connection with applications for the installation of offshore wind turbines puts him under pressure. Now the opposition wants answers. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

United opposition calls Løkke in consultation

A united opposition is calling Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen in consultation on a matter in which he is accused of favouring a certain investment fund in the expansion of offshore wind, Red-Green Alliance parliamentary leader Peder Hvelplund said. On Thursday, the online media Zetland published an article on the case. It sheds a critical light on Løkke’s actions regarding the green investment fund Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) applications for the installation of offshore wind turbines. Hvelplund, who is also the party’s climate and environment spokesman, called the story “deeply disturbing.” “This raises the question of whether the government and the foreign minister have taken specific business considerations into account rather than ensuring the expansion of offshore wind,” he says.
     The case concerns an open-door scheme, according to which companies may designate places to install offshore wind turbines themselves. But this requires that they can do so without subsidies from the state. According to Zetland, CIP applied for five projects, including one off Ringkøbing Fjord. However, several ministries have subsequently assessed that the open-door scheme could be illegal. Then, a special committee called the offshore wind committee, headed by Løkke Rasmussen, was set up to try to save the open-door scheme, Zetland reported. The committee is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. /ritzau/