Now, eight parties require investigation of secret sea pollution, but Heunicke says no.

Eight parties in opposition are now trying to gather support for an external investigation into the secret ocean pollution, but Heunicke says no

Magnus Heunicke calls the case 'unacceptable', but refuses to conduct an investigation in the first instance.

Magnus Heunicke says in the first instance no to an investigation into why the Ministry of Environment has broken EU rules in the environmental sector for years.

The scene is after a meeting in the Folketing on Friday, where Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke (S) was to explain himself in the case of secret ocean pollution, which DR has revealed in recent months.

The case, which DR has brought to light, concerns the fact that Danish coastal waters are polluted with twice as many environmentally harmful ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/havet-er-forurenet-med-langt-flere-kemikalier-end-miljoeministeriet-har-fortalt ) chemicals than the ministry's official figures to date have shown.

This is because the Ministry of Environment has for many years failed to set binding threshold values, even though officials have warned internally for years that it was in violation of the rules.

In addition, internal documents from the ministry have shown that the cost of business was to be taken into account in the decision on whether the ministry would set the threshold values, which the ministry is obligated to do according to the rules.

During the meeting, Heunicke called the case 'unacceptable' and 'deeply problematic'. He acknowledged that officials in the Ministry of Environment at least since 2018 have warned internally that the ministry is not complying with environmental regulations.

However, he refused to investigate why the ministry continued to break the rules.

'Completely scandalous'

The Red-Green Alliance and the Socialist People's Party were the first to demand an external investigation in June. Since then, the Danish People's Party, Alternative, Conservatives, and Denmark Democrats have joined, and after the meeting, the Radical Left and Liberal Alliance also joined the demand.

- We want the public and the Folketing to have full access to all documents in this case. We want some impartial experts to look at who made the decision to continue to break the law in the Ministry of Environment for so many years, says the Red-Green Alliance's environmental spokesperson, Leila Stockmarr.

The environmental spokesperson for Liberal Alliance, Pernille Vermund, has great difficulty understanding why Heunicke does not want to conduct an investigation.

- If it had been a private company that had failed to comply with the law, the hammer would have fallen. Now it is a ministry that has broken the law, and it is also a sitting minister who acknowledges that in the time he has been a minister, the law has not been followed. Yet he refuses to have it investigated. I think it is completely scandalous, says the environmental spokesperson for Liberal Alliance, Pernille Vermund.

Now, the opposition will take action against loose ends and see if it is possible to gather a majority for the external investigation that Heunicke refuses in the first instance.

- We must try to find some partners in the Folketing who will help us with this. But honestly, I also think that I will really put some effort into trying to convince the minister that it is also in his interest that we clean up properly in this, says SF's marine environmental spokesperson Marianne Bigum.

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Heunicke awaits marine environmental plan

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Magnus Heunicke says that for him in the first instance it is about introducing the missing environmental quality requirements, so that the ministry complies with EU rules.

- Here and now it is me who has responsibility for our marine environment. And I am obliged to ensure that what is serious, namely that Denmark is currently not complying with EU requirements, is put right.

- My political and legal conscience tells me that we must first put things right, says Magnus Heunicke.

When it is done, the minister is ready for a new conversation.

- I do not reject the possibility that parts of the case may be relevant to investigate. But here and now it is my responsibility to ensure that we comply with EU requirements, and that we get the environmental quality requirements that are needed to get a better marine environment.

- If you want to investigate what discussions were in the ministry at the time, we must discuss with the Folketing whether it can be done, says Heunicke.

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Distances himself from key sentence

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During the meeting, Magnus Heunicke distanced himself from a key formulation in the Ministry of Environment's own documents, which concern whether the consideration of business interests is the reason why EU rules are not being followed.

The ministry has among other things asked consulting firm Cowi to calculate the economic consequences. In the briefing for the task it states:

"The project's results should be part of the basis for making a decision on whether to introduce environmental quality criteria for one or more of the above-mentioned substances."

- It is a wrong statement to write in such a requirement specification, said Heunicke.

Consideration of business interests should not be part of the decision-making basis, said he.

- It should not be used as part of the basis, it must not.

- It is a wrong perception that has been held by the employee who made it, said Magnus Heunicke.

He explained that Cowi was put on the case because guidance from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Business and Growth requires that economic consequences be clarified.

Consideration of business interests is part of a series of documents in the case, and not just in the requirement specification that Heunicke spoke about.

Similar formulations have been written by a number of officials in the Ministry of Environment's documents in both 2020, 2023, and 2024, and it is this that has led Professor Emeritus of Public Administration Law Jørgen Albæk Jensen, who is based at Aarhus University, to speak of 'power abuse'. ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/professor-sag-om-hemmelig-havforurening-peger-paa-magtfordrejning-i )

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Lingers on the civil service

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The officials behind the repeated formulations were not the only ones to receive a reprimand from Heunicke during the meeting.

For the minister explained that he was first informed of the Ministry of Environment's illegal practice in June of this year in connection with DR's revelation of the case. He repeated several times during the meeting that he is dissatisfied that the knowledge that environmental regulations were not being followed never reached his desk.

- It has been emphasized to the department and therefore also the entire organization that it is an unacceptable and directly in violation of the rules way to work that cannot be tolerated or justified.

- I always watch over the civil servants. But sometimes there are some who think it might be nice not to notice this. It is a bit uncomfortable knowledge to receive. And yes, it can be uncomfortable, but it must be made public, said Magnus Heunicke.

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