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EUROPEAN UNION

Denmark proposes legislation for UK citizens’ rights in event of no-deal Brexit

Denmark’s government has filed a bill providing for the rights of British citizens who live in the Scandinavian country in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Published: 20 February 2019 18:52 CET
Denmark proposes legislation for UK citizens' rights in event of no-deal Brexit
An pro-EU demonstrator in London. Photo:REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/Ritzau Scanpix

The 129-page bill, which was filed on Wednesday, provides for temporary continuation of the majority of rights currently enjoyed by British citizens who live in Denmark under European Union free movement rules.

The aim of the proposed legislation is to cushion the impact of the consequences for Brits in Denmark, should the United Kingdom leave the union without a withdrawal agreement, the Ministry for Immigration and Integration wrote in a press statement.

Provided it passes parliamentary procedure, the proposed legislation is expected to come into effect on March 30th, should a no-deal scenario occur.

The bill provides for a temporary transitional arrangement which would enable British citizens and their families to remain in the country under an extension of rules currently in place under EU freedom of movement.

This includes the right to reside and work in Denmark, entitlement to social welfare benefits including certain types of pension (efterløn, førtidspension and folkepension), access to the education and healthcare systems, and recognition of vocational qualifications transferred from the UK.

The bill will apply to UK citizens and their family members who are legally resident in Denmark under EU free movement rules at the time of withdrawal, according to the proposal text.

In previous guidance published on the Ministry of Immigration website, British citizens living in Denmark who have not already obtained an EU registration certificate (EU-registreringsbevis), or have not already applied for one, were strongly advised to do so prior to March 29th. Family members of Denmark-based British citizens required to apply for Danish residence via their family member’s status are also advised to do so before this date.

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British citizens who qualify for permanent residency (tidsubegrænset ophold) in Denmark in accordance with EU rules are also advised to apply for this prior to March 29th although the new legislation will grant permanent residency to those who qualify for it after this date. Permanent residency can be applied for after five years’ residence in Denmark under EU free movement rules.

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“The United Kingdom is fast approaching Brexit. This is the first time a member state will leave the EU and is therefore a unique situation,” Minister for Immigration Inger Støjberg said in Wednesday’s statement.

“If the UK leaves the EU without an agreement, the (Danish government) wishes to ensure that the approximately 18,000 Brits who live in Denmark and who currently actively contribute to Danish society are not caught out,” Støjberg added.

The arrangement provided for by the bill is designed to be temporary and eventually be replaced by long-term agreements between the UK and the EU after Brexit, the Danish ministry writes in the statement.

A withdrawal agreement between British prime minister Theresa May and the EU was rejected by an overwhelming majority in the British parliament in January, and it remains unclear whether any agreement will be approved amid ongoing political turmoil in the UK.

Støjberg said in Wednesday’s statement that Denmark’s government “still hopes that the Brits [British parliament, ed.] approve the agreement made between the British government and the EU”, a view that has also been expressed by Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

If no agreement is voted through, the default outcome is a no-deal British withdrawal on March 29th.

READ ALSO: No-deal Brexit: Country by country guide to how the rights of Britons will be affected

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EUROPEAN UNION

Denmark joins countries calling for asylum centres outside EU

Denmark is one of 15 EU member states who have sent a joint letter to the European Commission demanding a further tightening of the bloc's asylum policy, which will make it easier to transfer undocumented migrants to third countries, such as Rwanda, including when they are rescued at sea.

Published: 16 May 2024 16:08 CEST
Denmark joins countries calling for asylum centres outside EU

The letter, sent to the European Commission on Thursday, comes less than a month before European Parliament elections, in which far-right anti-immigration parties are forecast to make gains.

The letter asks the European Union’s executive arm to “propose new ways and solutions to prevent irregular migration to Europe”.

The group includes Italy and Greece, which receive a substantial number of the people making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to reach the EU — many seeking to escape poverty, war or persecution, according to the International Organization for Migration.

They want the EU to toughen up its recently adopted asylum pact, which introduces tighter controls on those seeking to enter the 27-nation bloc.
That reform includes speedier vetting of people arriving without documents, new border detention centres and faster deportation for rejected asylum applicants.

The 15 proposed in their letter the introduction of “mechanisms… aimed at detecting, intercepting — or in cases of distress, rescuing — migrants on the high seas and bringing them to a predetermined place of safety in a partner country outside the EU, where durable solutions for those migrants could be found”.

They said it should be easier to send asylum seekers to third countries while their requests for protection are assessed.

They cited the example of a controversial deal that Italy has struck with non-EU Albania, under which Rome can send thousands of asylum seekers plucked from Italian waters to holding camps in the Balkan country until their cases are processed.

The concept in EU asylum law of what constitutes “safe third countries” should be reassessed, they continued.

Safe country debate

EU law stipulates that people arriving in the bloc without documents can be sent to a third country, where they could have requested asylum — so long as that country is deemed safe and the applicant has a genuine link with it.

That would exclude schemes like the divisive law passed by the UK, which has now left the EU, enabling London to refuse all irregular arrivals the right to request asylum and send them to Rwanda.

Rights groups accuse the African country — ruled with an iron fist by President Paul Kagame since the end of the 1994 genocide that killed around 800,000 people — of cracking down on free speech and political opposition.

The 15 nations said they wanted the EU to make deals with third countries along the main migration routes, citing the example of the arrangement it made with Turkey in 2016 to take in Syrian refugees from the war in their home country.

The letter was signed by Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

It was not signed by Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has resisted EU plans to share out responsibility across the bloc for hosting asylum seekers, or to contribute to the costs of that plan.

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