"En bomb under välfärdssystemet"

EU-domstolen har fattat beslut i det sk. Zambrano-fallet. Beslutet verkar, vad jag förstår, innebära att anhöriga har rätt till familjeåterförening om deras barn är EU-medborgare. Domen kan möjligtvis också beröra andra tredjelandmedborgares rätt till anhöriginvandring. Exakt vilka effekter domen kommer att få återstår att se, men i Danmark är upprördheten stor.

Nuvarande migrationsminister Søren Pind menar att domen kommer att få begränsad effekt.

The ruling demonstrates that it is a violation of EU law if a member country rejects residence and work permits for foreign nationals who support a child who has EU citizenship.

According to the experts, it is entirely possible to interpret the Zambrano Ruling in a way that could overrule several of the regulations passed by the Liberal Conservative government aimed at restricting immigration.

Following the ruling, the immigration minister, Søren Pind, pledged to look into how much of a threat European regulations pose to the government’s immigration policy. His exposition showed that last year just over 900 out of a total 59,000 residence permits were granted based on EU rulings.

Based on that small number, Pind said Denmark should adhere to the Zambrano Ruling and avoid a legal clash with the European Court of Justice.

“I don’t think it’s in any way fair to say that the previous legislation has undermined Danish legislation,” Pind told Politiken newspaper. “I find it hard to see the problem.” (Copenhagen Post 1)

Dansk Folkeparti (DF) är upprörda. “We want to be the master of our own house, and clearly we’re not when Søren Pind and the government say that we should just accept the rulings,” said DF’s deputy leader Peter Skaarup, who expects that the points system for family reunification will be adjusted so that the recent rulings will not become shortcuts to residency in Denmark.

Förra migrationsministern Birthe Rønn Hornbech kallar domen "en bomb under välfärdssystemet". För att parera effekterna av domen föreslår hon en begränsning av tillgången till det generella välfärdssystemet. Också företrädare för andra politiska partier är bekymrade över domen. Astrid Krag (Socialistisk Folkparti) och de Carina Christensen (konservativa) målar upp en motsättning mellan invandring och den danska välfärdsmodellen.

“I have no intention of letting our unique welfare model be undermined by the European Court of Justice,” said Astrid Krag, the Socialist People’s Party (SF) immigration spokesperson. “We have a tax-based universal welfare model here in Denmark. It is different from the insurance-based models in other countries, and that’s why a loosened immigration policy presents us with special challenges.”

The Conservatives, too, have expressed concern with the developments. “I fully agree with Hornbech that opening the doors to a heap of EU citizens who have free access to our welfare services is like a bomb under our welfare model. We can’t afford that in the long run,” said political spokesperson Carina Christensen. “We’re seeing a tendency with these rulings towards increased immigration, and if that’s the way things are going, our welfare system is under great pressure. So it is important that we act quickly and create some precautionary measures.” (Copenhagen Post 2)