Brussels, 25/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 25 January, the Danish authorities addressed the European Parliament Civil Liberties Committee (see EUROPE 11472) and defended its draft laws to seize the personal valuables of asylum seekers (in an effort to cover part of the reception costs) and restrict family regroupment rights.
Inger Stojberg, the Danish minister for immigration and integration, said that “We are applying the same rules for everyone” and want to “prevent any misunderstanding” regarding Danish government initiatives. She pointed out that the key principle of the Danish welfare state is that “those that can care for themselves should not be assisted by the state… This fundamental principle also applies to Danish citizens”.
The draft law on seizing personal effects will be adopted on Tuesday by the Folketing and is expected to garner “very broad” support from MPs who share the same political sympathies as the four major groups at the European Parliament, explained Stojberg. According to this draft law, asylum seekers will have to demonstrate whether they have sufficient resources for covering the costs related to their stay in Denmark during the time their application is processed. They will be able to keep up to 10,000 Danish crowns (€1,300), as well as objects, such as jewels that have sentimental value. The text also includes the possibility of checking the luggage of asylum seekers, who will also have the right to appeal and indicate whether any abuse of their rights as been committed.
The Danish Minister also said that Denmark would assume its responsibility in taking in refugees. In 2015 it took in 21,500, with 25,000 being expected in 2016. It is one of the 10 countries taking in the most refugees per capita. Stojberg said that similarly to other Nordic countries, they were providing access to a variety of assistance in the form of education and training, access to health care, help for the unemployed and accommodation.
Refraining from any comment, the European Commission representative immediately indicated that the Commission had not been able to assess the two Danish draft laws in any detail. He pointed out that Denmark was party to international conventions and European legislation on asylum, in addition to the Dublin regulation (registration of asylum seekers) and the Eurodac system (asylum seekers' fingerprint comparisons). He also pointed out that the “reception conditions” directive on asylum seekers did include the possibility of carrying out a “test” on the material conditions for subsistence but that the vulnerability of refugees was also a factor that should be taken into account.
During the debate, several MEPs requested details concerning the Danish draft laws. Laura Ferrara (EFDD, Italy) asked: “It is worrying that a confiscation of valuables is stipulated. Are these kind of searches also planned for Danish citizens?” Sophie in 't Veldt (ALDE, Netherlands) asked the Danish minister to explain her notion of objects that had sentimental value.
Other MEPs also deplored the unilateral action of certain member states' management of migratory flows and which made the prospect of reaching a European solution very remote. Cecilia Wikström (ALDE, Sweden) apologised for her country reintroducing border controls with Denmark and deplored the race towards the “domino effect” in national measures, in an attempt to reduce the flows of refugees. Judith Sargentini (Green/EFA, Netherlands) said: “When each member state takes unilateral measures, we get further away from finding a European solution”. She also asked the Danish government representatives how they intended to respond to criticism from the Council of Europe.
There were very few MEPs who defended the Danish government action, except Anders Primdahl Vistisen (ECR) and a Swedish MEP. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)