Denmark is an unsuitable model country for Dutch asylum policy
Mark Klaassen, Assistant Professor of Immigration Law and member of the Dutch Advisory Council on Migration, explains on Dutch radio programme ‘Met het Oog op Morgen’ why it’s a bad idea to use Denmark as a model country for Dutch asylum policy.
In Denmark, the number of asylum applications filed each year is significantly lower than in the Netherlands. In 2022, approximately 35,000 initial asylum applications were submitted in the Netherlands, while in Denmark fewer than 5,000 were submitted. Like the Netherlands, Denmark is a party to both the UN Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. EU asylum law is largely based on it. However, Denmark negotiated an opt-out on EU asylum policy back in 1992, which means it does not have to adhere to the rules set out in the Common European Asylum System. This gives Denmark room to be slightly stricter.
This is reflected in legal proceedings, as some asylum seekers are unable to appeal rejections, for example. The process of revoking an asylum permit is also somewhat easier than under EU asylum law, which stipulates that there must be a drastic, permanent improvement in security. In Denmark, on the other hand, a small improvement is often enough. This has now allowed Denmark to declare parts of Syria safe and revoke asylum permits. However, since the country is not yet truly safe, no deportations are happening.
This makes Denmark a less appealing country for asylum seekers to settle in. As a Syrian asylum seeker, you would think twice before going to Denmark as you would likely receive better protection in another Member State. This in turn affects the other Member States, which receive all of the asylum seekers in proceedings who did not settle in Denmark.
Ironically, Denmark has therefore managed to prove that you do need to regulate asylum on an EU level. The scrapping of internal EU borders means that asylum seekers are able to travel across the EU easily, even though they are not technically allowed to do so. To ensure that countries do not erode their asylum rights so as to be less attractive as a destination country for asylum seekers, all Member States agreed to apply the same rules. Those rules are set out in the Common European Asylum System, and Denmark is the only Member State that is not a party to that system. What is currently happening is exactly what EU asylum law was designed to prevent: the erosion of asylum rights.
Many of Denmark’s stricter measures are not feasible in the Netherlands. Denmark has shown how, by eroding asylum seekers’ legal protection, you end up with fewer asylum seekers in proceedings. The country has been condemned a number of times for this – including by the European Court of Human Rights.
Dr Klaassen explains this in the Met het Oog op Morgen broadcast: ‘It’s unwise to use Denmark as a model country for Dutch asylum law because, unlike Denmark, the Netherlands is bound by EU asylum law. If the Netherlands does try to follow Denmark's example, it will result in a race to the bottom, where Member States similar to the Netherlands will attempt to make the situation for asylum seekers increasingly miserable.’
More information
Listen to the NPO Radio1 clip (from 21:38 onwards)
Photo: Mikhail Pavstyuk through Unsplash