Danish government to cut extra 300 million kroner from development aid budget

The money will be spent on assisting refugees in Denmark

The Danish government has decided to cut an additional 300 million kroner from the development aid budget for 2016, reports DR.

The aid funding will instead be spend on assisting and housing refugees streaming into Denmark, announced the foreign minister, Kristian Jensen.

READ MORE: Cost of refugees skyrocketing in Denmark

Extraordinary situation
“This is an urgent and extraordinary situation. We have to prioritise receiving and housing asylum-seekers in Denmark,” said Jensen.

“We will also donate more money to the neighbouring regions, where we can also help the millions of refugees escaping the conflict in Syria.”

READ MORE: 140,000 refugees made their way to Europe in November

Higher expenses
The government has calculated housing and assisting refugees in Denmark will cost the state 1.5 billion kroner more compared to the original budget.

Denmark is also contributing some 285.4 million kroner to the special EU budget that is aimed at stabilising the refugee situation in Europe.

In total, some 4.7 billion kroner has been cut from the development aid budget since the summer.