Minister of Foreigners and Integration: The government is ready to change the laws governing Syrian refugees.

Following the formation of the new Danish government, known as the SVM government (an acronym for the three parties that make up the new government), the Minister for Foreigners and Integration, Kaar Dybvad Beik, acknowledged the government's readiness to change the laws for Syrian refugees, specifically regarding the reinstatement of residence permits for Syrian female refugees residing in deportation centers, who were studying or working in a field where the Danish labor market is experiencing shortages.

This statement is completely contrary to what Kaar Dybvad Bek said when he was a minister in the same position in the previous government before the November 1, 2022 elections, which caused him to be sharply criticized by both members of his own Social Democratic Party and other right-wing parties. One of the Social Democratic Party members, Peter Skarup, criticized his party colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Integration, Kaar Dybvad Bek, for changing his position, which was known during the election campaign, by 180 degrees after the election campaign, during which the party insisted on the need to deport Syrian refugees who no longer needed protection, after the Danish government considered Syria to be safe.

According to local media, the minister's current position on Syrian refugee women in deportation centers is: since they would have to be returned to their country, but are being trained in a profession that is in short supply, they are still welcome to stay in Denmark.

The minister's justification for changing his position

The minister countered the criticism with the following justification: “It is a small change for me, which means that the group, in my best opinion, is less than 100 people in total, and will have the opportunity to receive an education in something that is lacking in our society.” He calls it an “extension” of the legislation, and pointed to the fact that he had commented during the election campaign on individual examples, where he also said that the law is equal for all, but when we change the law, it means that everyone is still equal before the law.

Opening the file of Syrian refugee women in deportation centers

The controversy arose during the election campaign in the fall when the DR website described how many Syrian women were about to return home because Denmark considered Syria safe, even though many of them were working or studying.

At the time, Kaar Dybvad Bek's message was clear: we were right at the heart of Danish immigration policy, which is based on the fact that when you are here as a refugee, you are here temporarily. This applies regardless of whether you are unemployed, employed, in education, or retired, because everyone is equal before the law, as Kaar Dybvad Bek stated at the time.

The Conservative Party does not want a new system.

There was also a shift in attitudes among the Conservatives, as the right-wing Blue party believes that what the government wants is to combine asylum policy with employment policy. Birgitte Klintskov-Gerkel, the Conservative Party's spokesperson on migration and integration, commented: “Asylum is temporary, granted when it is dangerous to be in one's home country. We don't want to change that. I can easily see that there could be a dilemma. But there are other schemes you can apply to specifically regarding employment in Denmark.” During the election campaign, Conservative Party leader Søren Pape Poulsen said otherwise about these cases: “After all, it should be this way for those who know how to take Denmark seriously and integrate, who want community life and who want to work. These are the things we should look at sensibly and positively at a time when we are facing a shortage of manpower, without turning refugee policy into immigration.”.

But the rapporteur sees no difference between her position and that of her party leader, pointing to the fact that the Conservatives want to overcome the labor shortage in other ways, for example by permanently lowering the minimum amount for foreign workers and cutting taxes.