The new sessional year of the Danish Parliament begins on Tuesday 2 October 2012. The event begins at 10.00 with a divine service for Members at Christiansborg Palace Chapel.

Queen Margrethe and other members of the royal family will arrive at Christiansborg at 11.45 and be received by the Speaker of the Danish Parliament, Mogens Lykketoft, at the end of the red carpet on the grand stairs in the Rigsdag Courtyard.

Bertel Haarder is the veteran Member

The first sitting of the Danish Parliament begins at precisely 12.00 and is chaired by the longest-serving Member. This is Bertel Haarder (Liberal Party), who has been a Member of Parliament for more than 32 years.

The first item of the agenda is the election of a chairperson. This is usually a tranquil event with a unanimous Parliament nominating the same person. Parliament also elects four Deputy Speakers from among the parties with most seats. Together, the Speaker and the four Deputy Speakers constitute the Presidium of the Danish Parliament.

Opening address: the Government’s opinion of the state of affairs in Denmark

When the Chairperson has been elected, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt will take the floor and hold her opening address in which, as the head of the Government, she gives an account of the state of affairs in the Realm and the world outside.

The legal basis for the opening speech is contained in Section 38 (1) of the Danish Constitutional Act, which states that the Prime Minister must provide an account of the general status of the Realm and of the measures the Government intends to take. This oral account is what is popularly known as the Prime Minister’s opening address.

But the address also includes a review of the Bills that the Government will be introducing during the new session.

Debate on the opening address, 4 October at 10:00

There is no debate on the Prime Minister’s opening address on the opening day. This debate takes place on Thursday 4 October at 10.00.

The opening of the Danish Parliament is transmitted live on the Danish Parliament’s website and on its TV channel.