Menu

Fortress Denmark would like its asylum seekers to be sent outside Europe!

COPENHAGEN: On Thursday, Denmark ratchet up its tough anti-immigration legislation by adopting new legislation that would enable it to open asylum centers outside of Europe for applicants to live in. real estate qatar

The latest move by Mette Frederiksen's Social Democratic government against immigration aims at dissuading migrants from arriving in Denmark.

Asylum seekers would now have to apply personally at the Danish border and then be flown to an asylum center outside Europe while processing their application.

If the request has been approved and refugee status is granted to the person, he or she is entitled to live in the host country, not in Denmark.

Thursday, despite opposition from some leftist parties, the bill passed through parliament with a majority, including the far-right.

On Thursday, the European Commission said that the Danish plan violated current EU rules on asylum.

Since Copenhagen has an opt-out on EU migration and asylum cooperation, the Commission would review the situation 'before deciding any future action,' reporters told Speaker Adalbert Jahnz.

In recent years, Denmark has repeatedly made headlines in anti-immigration policy including its governmental target for "zero refugees," its retirement from Syrians now that it considers parts of the country safe and its "ghettos" repression to reduce the number of "non-Western" residents.

According to the immigration ministry, the new law seeks to establish a legal basis for the transfer of persons seeking international protection to a third country in Denmark.

Denmark would pay the bill, but the host country would process asylum requests.

If an individual's asylum application is rejected, the migrant is requested to leave the host country.

However, even "those whose asylum claims have been successful when exported cannot "return" to Denmark to receive refugee status.

They will simply get refugee status in the unnamed host country," Martin Lemberg-Pedersen, Migration Expert from the University of Copenhagen, told AFP.

No country has yet agreed to cooperate with Denmark, but the government states that it has no identification in talks with five to 10 nations.

"Of course, a system for transfer to a third country of asylum seekers needs to be established under the international conventions," said Migration Minister Mattias Tesfaye to the AFP.

"We also need a monitoring mechanism in place to ensure that everything is going as planned on an ongoing basis."

He said the countries may not necessarily be democracies "as we see things."

Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia have been mentioned as possibilities by Danish media.

Though the document does not specifically cover external asylum treatment, Denmark and Rwanda signed a memorandum of understanding on asylum and migration cooperation in Aprils.

The new legislation marks a complete turn-around on immigration under the rule of Frederiksen for the Social Democrats.

The populist Danish People's Party has had a monopoly on anti-immigration policy for many years. But their position has become the norm, political scientist Kasper Hansen of the University of Copenhagen noted.

Five years after the adoption of a law allowing Denmark to seize the valuables of asylum seekers – legislation that has headlines but has not been applied, the authorities continue to practice dissuasion.

The new law is a "continuation of symbolic politics," ActionAid Denmark Secretary-General Tim Whyte told AFP.

In 2019, only 2,716 people in Denmark sought asylum, 8 times less than in the 2015 migrant crisis.

Although this initiative will bring political advantage at home, international observers have expressed concern.

The United Nations Agency for Refugees, UNHCR, stated that the law is "contrary to the principles of international cooperation on refugees."

"Denmark risk starting the domino effect by initiating such a drastic and restrictive change in Danish refugee legislation, where countries in Europe and the surrounding areas would also explore the potential of limiting the protection of refugees on their soil," said UNHCR representative Henrik Nordentoft to the Nordic and Baltic countries.

Denmark's European partners are being let down, Whyte said.

"In Germany, France and Sweden, refugees are going to seek asylum. It won't stop them from crossing the Mediterranean Sea, but it won't reach Denmark, which is shirking its responsibilities."

Go Back

Comment

Blog Search

Comments

There are currently no blog comments.