Denmark will not be accepting any quota refugees for 2018, according to the immigration and integration minister, Inger Støjberg.
The decision means Denmark hasn’t accepted any quota refugees since 2015 and remains the only country to halt its intake of the so-called resettlement refugees.
“Even though we’ve seen better control on the flow of refugees, we are still in a situation when we are fighting to integrate the many refugees who have arrived to Denmark in recent years,” Støjberg said.
“Despite more refugees finding work, there are still many who can’t support themselves – particularly among women. So I’ve decided that Denmark won’t be taking in any quota refugees in 2018.”
READ MORE: Mayors willing to accept ‘quota refugees’ once again
Heavy criticism
A quota refugee is a refugee that resettled in another country as per an agreement with the UN. They most often hail from specific geographic areas experiencing particularly violent crises or an epidemic, or which are rife with human rights abuses.
Up until 2016, Denmark received about 500 quota refugees annually, but due to a new law change last year, it is up to the immigration minister whether or not Denmark accepts quota refugees.
Denmark has attracted considerable criticism from the international community for closing its borders to quota refugees, and last year 25 European countries accepted some 39,000.
Last month a number of Venstre party mayors declared they were prepared to receive quota refugees again.
