Two out of three Danes ‘strongly agree’ or ‘partially agree’ that development aid recipients should forfeit the assistance if they refuse to accept citizens from their own country who were denied residence in Denmark, according to a survey carried out by Epinion for DR.

However, Lars Engberg-Pedersen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, believes using foreign aid as an economic whip will not motivate developing countries to accept back more of their own citizens.

“Based on our research, we can see this will not have any effect on the political decision-making by local governments,” Engberg-Pedersen told DR.

Better living conditions
On the other hand, by cutting back on development assistance, Denmark would not be able to achieve the desired effects such as improved education, health, drinking water and democracy to the same degree, noted Engberg-Pedersen.

Epinion also asked the representative sample of 1,004 Danes whether their country should try to create better living conditions in countries where many migrants come from.

A majority, 62 percent, ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘partially agreed’, while 23 percent disagreed.