A divorced mother that hails from another EU country can still receive child support from Denmark. According to Manu Sareen, the social affairs minister, the mothers are entitled to the money even if they no longer live in the country and the father does not originally come from Denmark.
“A single mother in Poland can apply for Danish subsidies if the father of the child is working and paying taxes in Denmark,” Sareen told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
This means that a mother who has never set foot been on Danish soil has the right to Danish family allowances.
“Denmark must comply with its obligations under EU rules,” said Sareen. “It is perfectly reasonable that someone working and paying taxes in a country has some rights.”
READ MORE: Government rolling over to EU on child support payments, critics say
That attitude is meeting stiff resistance in parliament.
“This is just part of the overall problem with child support,” Venstre (V) tax spokesperson Torsten Schack Pedersen told Jyllands-Posten.
Enhedslisten (EL) spokesperson Finn Sorensen said that it is “fundamental problem” that EU regulations run counter to Danish law, which does not require child benefits be exported out of the country.
