Enhedslisten moves to block proposed cuts to Danish classes

As budget talks move forward, the government will need to scrap its plans to cut funding for Danish courses for immigrants to earn the support of the far-left party it is counting on

The government's proposal to cut 200 million kroner from the funds available to language centres that teach Danish to adult foreigners looks to be scrapped thanks to the influence of far-left party Enhedslisten (EL). 

 

As part of the ongoing budget negotiations, EL, which looks like the government's only route to secure a deal after talks with opposition parties Venstre (V) and Konservative (K) broke down early in the week, is insisting that the planned cuts to Danish classes be dropped.

 

"If what the government and Enhedslisten are currently negotiating becomes a reality, and we end up with a budget agreement, then the 200 million kroner budget cuts to Danish lessons will be removed," EL's spokesperson Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen told Politiken newspaper. "We believe that the cuts would seriously affect the standard of Danish language courses that refugees and immigrants receive. One needn't be a professor of integration to see that it is precisely these Danish lessons that are essential for effective integration."

 

When the government proposed the cuts in August, it pointed to high dropout rates as one of the reasons that the cuts should be made. About 30 percent of students who start Danish classes drop out before they finish, according to reports.

 

However, that claim was questioned by at least one headmaster of a Danish language centre. 

 

“Language centres are the only educational system in Denmark where the school receives half of a student’s funding when they start their education and does not see the rest of the cost of educating that student until they graduate,” Walther Jeppesen, the headmaster of Sprogcentre Nordsjælland,  told The Copenhagen Post in August. "The state does not lose money if our students do not graduate, but our students lose every time the state cuts our funding."

 

EL's attempt to avoid the cuts to the Danish language courses are just one element that will have to be ironed out as the budget negotiations move forward.

 

According to Politiken, EL is also insisting that the government backs off from its proposal to carry out more than 300 million kroner in cuts to the state railway operator DSB. EL also vocally opposed that proposal in August. Back then, party spokesperson Henning Hyllested said: "It is obviously a deterioration of public transportation."

 

The budget negotiations are clearly working out well for EL. Earlier on Thursday, it reached a deal with the government on 'social dumping' – the exploitation of foreign workers – that will give government authorities more power to impose fines on employers and improve the registration of foreign workers in Denmark, among other things.

 

Among the other budget details still under negotiation are how to finance the removal of the much-maligned sugar and fat taxes and what to do with the controversial plan to make Danes, who work abroad for more than 183 days a year, pay Danish taxes from their earnings.

 

On Tuesday, V-K representatives said that they felt "thrown out" of the budget talks, and it has since been confirmed that the opposition parties are officially out of the negotiations.

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs