By Johannes Birkebaek
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The Nordic governments intend to step up their cooperation to return immigrants without legal residence in the region to their countries of origin, ministers from the five countries said in a joint press conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday.
Denmark, which aims to only accept refugees under the UN’s quota system, has drawn strong criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups alike as its immigration policies have toughened over the past decade.
However, the Danish model has become more popular as anti-immigration voices have gained traction across the Nordic region.
The Swedish government is looking towards Danish immigration policies as the country battles gang violence caused by “an irresponsible immigration policy and a failed integration,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last month.
“The Swedish government is truly looking at how the Danish government has worked with both fighting organised crime but also on migration issues,” Sweden’s Minister of Migration, Maria Malmer Stenergard said at the press conference.
Finland has also seen a rise in anti-immigration polices as their newly formed government in June said it had agreed to cut refugee quotas and make it more difficult for foreigners to obtain citizenship.
“This cooperation will be supporting our governmental program because it’s very concentrated on immigration rules and the returns especially, which have been the weak link in our system,” Mari Rantanen, Finnish Minister of the Interior, said.
The ministers of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland have agreed to strengthen cooperation between diplomatic personnel in charge of returning migrants from the respective Nordic countries to their country of origin.
The five countries also have agreed to arrange joint flights to take illegal residents to a third country through the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex.
Last year the Agency helped return just under 25.000 people, of which 40% returned voluntarily, according to Frontex.
Lastly, the ministers agreed to “assist stranded irregular migrants in North Africa,” who they say will be offered assisted voluntary return to their home countries and assistance in re-establishing themselves in the third country.
Irregular immigrants often travel by the help of smugglers on their way towards Europe and many end up stranded in Africa on their way, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
(Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek, editing by Louise Rasmussen and David Gregorio)
