Government and DPP Reach Asylum Agreement
DR Nyheder (Frederiksberg, Denmark), Nov. 8
The government and its right wing supporting party, the Danish People’s Party, have today agreed a policy for the repatriation of rejected asylum seekers.
The agreement ensures that foreign aid will be cut back from any country refusing to take back its own citizens who will not leave Denmark voluntarily.
The agreement also assures a payment of 17,000 kroner to any Iraqi asylum seeker who opts to return home.
The government’s policy has always been to threaten to reduce foreign aid to those countries not cooperating with the repatriation programme but this agreement ensures that cutbacks will be actual and not just threatened.
The question of how to deal with the 2,200 rejected asylum seekers who currently reside in Denmark has been key to the government and Danish People’s Party’s ability to get started with the budget negotiations for 2005. Negotiations are underway today.
