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EU slaps down Danish immigration policies
08.12.2008 Print article (IE & NS 4+)
The European Commission indicated Denmark must do more to abide by EU immigration regulations
Efforts to toughen immigration laws in the wake of the Metock ruling have been dealt a severe blow by the European Commission on Sunday, which released its long-awaited report on the European Union's residency directive.
The report stated that no immediate changes will be made to the directive. the commission also indicated that Denmark has been one of the worst member states in implementing EU immigration rules.
The government had been attempting to change immigration laws to prevent what it believes is widespread abuse of EU rules allowing citizens to legally bring foreign spouses into member states.
Denmark has been at odds with the EU since the Metock ruling in July, which allows non-EU spouses of legal EU residents to obtain residence permits without having previously lived in another EU country. The commission indicated Denmark has commonly failed to provide couples seeking residency proper guidance about union directives.
Denmark's own laws require that permanent residency can only be obtained after seven years living in the country, as opposed to the five-year period cited by EU regulations. Another discrepancy between EU rules and Danish laws is that Denmark does not recognise the rights of a foreign spouse to remain in the country, should their Danish partner die after a joint one-year residency.
Both the nationalist Danish People's Party and opposition Social Democrats have supported the government's concerns that the Metock ruling can lead to legal residency without the foreign person having a valid reason for being in the country. (rc)
The opposition suggests the immigration minister should step down after the ombudsman releases a cricial report
A critical report into the Immigration Service's counselling practices has led to calls for Immigration Minister Birthe Rønn Hornbech to step down, reports Politiken newspaper.
This summer, the Immigration Service was alleged to have failed to inform Danes looking to bring their foreign spouses to Denmark of their rights to move to within the EU together with their family. The charges led Ombudsman Hans Gammeltoft Hansen to launch an investigation.
Hansen broadened his investigation last month to include possible violations of EU freedom of movement regulations upheld by a European Court of Justice decision against Ireland. In its decision in the Metock case, the ECJ ruled that non-EU spouses of legal EU residents can obtain residence permits without having previously lived in another EU country.
Hansen's findings have led the Social Democrats and Social Liberals to demand that Hornbech step down.
'[Hornbech] has to acknowledge that she has broken the law and should either begin a complete housecleaning or leave her office,' said the Social Liberal MP Morten Østergaard.
'It's now obvious that the ministry's practices have been in violation of administrative laws, and that misinformation has occurred in at least one specific case.' (rc)
The EU's migration directive will remain unchanged, but new immigration regulations are cleared for now
Immigration Minister Birthe Rønn Hornbech returned home from Brussels on Thursday with a mixed bag of results after presenting her case for a change to EU migration regulations to the European Commission.
On the one hand, the commission refused to overturn the European Court of Justice's recent Metock decision, which punched a hole in Denmark's tough immigration rules by reasserting that Danish citizens can claim their EU right to free movement when seeking to migrate with a foreign spouse to Denmark.
Ireland, Germany, Austria, Cyprus and the UK all supported Denmark’s call for a re-evaluation of the Metock decision. But the commission's refusal indicates that the government will have an uphill battle in lobbying the union to change migration regulations.
Hornbech shook hands with the government's ally, the Danish People's Party, last week on new Danish immigration regulations. At that time, she promised she would push for a change of the migration directive.
The commission will allow the union’s Council of Ministers to investigate possible misuses of the decision by non-EU citizens living in member states. That review will be completed by December.
The remainder of this week's agreement, which toughens immigration laws by demanding greater documentation and increases citizenship requirements, was cleared by the commission. (rc)
