schema:articleBody
| - The mayor of Copenhagen on Tuesday proposed a ban on evening alcohol sales in some parts of Danish city centres to combat violence, a move unrelated to the coronavirus. "We've seen that problems linked to nightlife in some areas of Copenhagen, especially in the city centre, have gotten out of hand: more noise, more drunk people in the streets and cases of totally unacceptable violence," Social Democratic Mayor Frank Jensen said in a statement. Under the proposal submitted to the justice ministry, alcohol sales would be banned after 8:00 pm in some parts of the capital popular with partygoers. The ban would apply to shops but not bars or restaurants. The mayor wants to see similar rules in Denmark's other big cities, partially restoring the previous status quo -- until 2005, sales of beverages containing more than 2.8 percent alcohol were banned between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am. Jensen also wants municipal security guards to be authorised to issue fines to those causing public disturbances, a task currently limited to police. Efforts to combat an uptick in the spread of coronavirus -- which is not mentioned in Jensen's proposal -- have shed light on the nightlife problems, with a growing number of politicians and experts calling for the disturbances to be reined in. In Copenhagen and Odense, Denmark's third-biggest city, bars and restaurants are required to close by midnight in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. In the rest of the country, closing time is 2:00 am. "We will take it into account in our work to put an end to behaviour that is causing public insecurity," Justice Minister Nick Haekkerup told Ritzau news agency. Contrary to neighbouring Sweden, Norway and Finland, which all have state monopoly shops with restricted opening hours, alcohol is sold freely in Denmark. cbw/map/po/jxb
|