In Denmark and Sweden, asylum policies are implemented with considerable rigor.
In Denmark and Sweden, asylum seekers are hardly arriving nowadays. These countries aim to make themselves as undesirable as possible to migrants, focusing on minimal social benefits, restricted family reunification, and preventing the establishment of parallel societies.
Germany's asylum and migration policy is currently a significant political issue, particularly after a suspected Islamist attack led to three deaths in Solingen. Germany's Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, has enforced six-month border controls with all neighboring countries, facilitating deportations, reducing or eliminating certain benefits for asylum seekers, and implementing knife bans. Additionally, police and security authorities are given more powers. These are some of the measures the German coalition government wishes to implement to manage asylum policy effectively.
The Union, however, believes this is not enough. The CDU and CSU propose even stricter policies. In the future, asylum seekers should be rejected at the German border, according to the Union's demands. Negotiations between the federal government and the Union failed yesterday over this issue. The German Parliament will discuss the SPD, Greens, and FDP's "streamlined security package" on Thursday.
The Union is likely to challenge this project. For the CDU leader, Friedrich Merz, and others, Denmark and Sweden should serve as role models for Germany.
"Some changes could be made in Germany"
In both Nordic countries, very few refugees are arriving. Last year, only 2,300 people applied for asylum in Denmark, and around 9,000 in Sweden. Compared to that: In Germany, 329,000 asylum applications were submitted. This is equivalent to 3,900 applications per million inhabitants - ten times as many as in Denmark, almost five times as many as in Sweden. The EU average is approximately 2,300 asylum applications per million inhabitants.
Denmark took stricter measures after the large refugee wave in 2015. In 2019, the Social Democrats even won the parliamentary elections with demands for a rigid asylum policy and appointed Mette Frederiksen as prime minister. Alongside the then-migration minister Matthias Tesfaye, the head of government aimed to prevent any asylum seekers from entering the country. Only individuals recognized as refugees according to international law should be admitted.
Presently, the Danish government has abandoned this goal but continues to pursue a strict immigration policy. "We strive to ensure that society as a whole can bear the burden of integration. I believe we do some things that Germany could also succeed in doing," stated Kaare Dybvad Bek, now Tesfaye's successor as Danish migration minister.
Women and girls from Afghanistan, who face discrimination from the Taliban in their home country, are typically granted asylum in Denmark. Migrants working in the healthcare sector find it easier to enter, and non-European spouses of refugees can more easily join their partners in Denmark.
No deportations to Syria yet
However, Denmark's essential aspects of strict asylum and migration policy remain. Asylum seekers must reside in collective centers and do not have permission to work. Once their asylum applications are rejected, migrants are detained in deportation centers - under poor conditions. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) criticized the conditions in the Ellebæk deportation center in 2019, comparing them to those in Russian prisons.
Family reunification is only possible if migrants can prove high income and a large apartment. Those who choose to leave voluntarily receive over 5,000 euros from the Danish government as an incentive. Asylum seekers within the country receive approximately 7.50 euros per day - if the application is rejected, there is no more money, only food and accommodation.
Denmark also threatens deportations to Syria. Copenhagen classifies part of the civil war country as "safe" and has revoked the residence permits of some Syrians. However, no deportations have taken place yet - also due to Denmark not maintaining relations with the Assad regime.
"Ghetto Law" against Parallel Societies
The Copenhagen government is aggressively combating parallel societies. In no district may the proportion of "non-Western" foreigners exceed 30 percent, according to the "Ghetto Law." Consequently, the Danish government aims to eliminate social hotspots by 2030, even if it means demolishing entire residential blocks and forcibly resettling migrants.
The so-called "Jewelry Law" has caused controversy. Authorities may seize valuable items (over 1,300 euros) from asylum seekers to cross-finance their accommodation and care. "This is pure symbol politics," says Michala Clante Bendixen of Refugees Welcome Denmark, an organization advocating for asylum seekers. The Jewelry Law is scarcely applied and seems to serve more as a deterrent.
That Denmark is more stringent than many other countries despite EU membership is due to special rules. At the beginning of the 1990s, Copenhagen negotiated this possibility in talks with the EU. As a result, Denmark may issue directives on asylum, immigration, border controls, and visas that differ from EU regulations.
Sweden? More outflows than inflows
Sweden was once renowned for its liberal immigration and integration policies. Until 2015, when 160,000 asylum seekers came to Sweden in a year - a significant number for a country of ten million people. Afterward, there was a shift in asylum policy, although not as drastic or immediate as in Denmark.
Ever since, the number of asylum seekers has significantly decreased. This year, more migrants have left than have entered during the first six months, according to Integration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard. The conservative minority government, backed by the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats, has tightened its asylum policy in line with Denmark's approach.
Sweden has made it challenging for family reunification, as welfare benefits for asylum seekers have remained stagnant for years, and temporary residence permits are the norm. Sweden's borders have also been fortified due to its strategic position high in the north and sharing an internal EU border with Finland.
As reported in "Stern," Bernd Parusel, a migration scientist at the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (SIEPS) in Stockholm, states that Sweden is not hesitant to push the boundaries of what is legally permissible to send a strong discouraging message. Sweden aims to eliminate everything that is not specifically required by international and European law.
Sweden also allows deportations to Afghanistan and Syria; however, these efforts often fall short in practice. This year, there have been no deportations to the Taliban's land. Last year, five convicted Afghans were deported through Uzbekistan.
Such scenarios highlight the potential drawbacks of the Swedish system. Parusel, an expert, warns in "Der Spiegel" that granting only temporary protection, which may leave refugees in uncertainty and possibly complicate family reunification, could negatively impact integration, a goal that Sweden is trying to achieve.
The German Parliament is expected to discuss the SPD, Greens, and FDP's "streamlined security package" on Thursday, which includes measures to manage asylum policy effectively. However, the Union, led by Friedrich Merz, is likely to challenge this project and advocate for Denmark and Sweden's stricter asylum policies as role models for Germany.
Reflecting on Denmark's asylum policy, Kaare Dybvad Bek, the current Danish migration minister, stated that Germany could benefit from some of Denmark's strategies, such as preventing asylum seekers from entering the country and maintaining a strict immigration policy.
