Citizen in Denmark - Ny i Danmark

publishes information about occupationalhealth and safety. The Danish WorkingEnvironment Authority has offices aroundthe country. We refer to www.at.dk forfurther details.Dankort payment cardThe Dankort card is a special Danish paymentcard issued by the banks. Dankortcards are accepted in most places. Youwill be given a PIN code which must beused when withdrawing money fromcashpoint machines. Some shops requirea signature on a Dankort receipt.DemocracyThe word "folkestyre" meansdemocracy.District courtThe district court is the court of firstinstance in the Danish judicial system.District courts deal with civil cases andthe majority of criminal cases.Educational associationAn educational association is an organisationthat coordinates and manageseducation work, especially in connectionwith vocational education.EEA, TheThe EEA is an abbreviation of the EuropeanEconomic Area. This is an agreementbetween the EU member states andIceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Theagreement came into force in 1994 anddeals with the free movement of labour,goods, people, services and capital as wellas uniform rules of competition.EU, TheUp until 1993, the European Union wasknown as the EC (the European Community).Cooperation has graduallyevolved since the first six countries signedthe Treaty of Rome in 1957. Denmarkbecame a member of the EC followinga national referendum in 1972. The EUnow comprises 27 European memberstates. These are Belgium, Bulgaria,Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia,Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Ireland,Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland,Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic,Germany, Hungary and Austria.European Parliament, TheThe European Parliament has 785 memberswho are elected by the citizens ofits 27 EU member states. Members areelected to serve for a five-year term.The number of members depends onthe size of the country. Denmark has14 members.Evangelical LutheranThe Danish National Church is an EvangelicalLutheran Church. This meansthat it belongs to the Christian Church,which split off from the Roman CatholicChurch during the Reformation in the16th century.Folk high schoolThe folk high school - commonly referredto as the high school - is a special formof boarding school for adults and youngpeople. High schools came into being inDenmark in the mid-nineteenth century.The idea behind the high school is togive young people and adults an insightinto history, culture and social life. Highschools offer courses in music, art, sport,philosophy and social studies. Tuitiondoes not lead to formal qualificationsand pupils do not sit exams.PRACTICAL INFORMATION159