Danes sign UN agreement on migration in Marrakesh

PM maintains that the deal won’t compromise Denmark’s tough immigration line

Denmark is among the countries to sign the new UN agreement on migration, ‘Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration’ (GCM).

PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen is in Marrakesh to ink the deal, which largely concerns tackling the considerable migration taking place from Africa to the EU.

“The UN declaration is a symbol of being part of the international community and I am pleased that a broad majority of Parliament indicated their support to Denmark signing on. Cross-border problems demand cross-border co-operation, not isolation,” said Rasmussen.

READ MORE: Denmark will have up to 400,000 more immigrants by 2060 – report

Rest easy, DF
Rasmussen, who has been under recent pressure from right-wing party Dansk Folkeparti (DF), which didn’t want Denmark to sign the declaration, underlined that the agreement was not legally-binding and therefore didn’t trump Danish law.

Ultimately, that means that Denmark can continue on its stringent course in terms of immigration, and the PM contended that it was important to differentiate between legal and illegal migration.

The agreement will formally be approved in New York on December 19 and it is here that the Danish government will convey its interpretation of the declaration.

As of now, Denmark’s interpretation proposal has attracted backing from Norway, the Netherlands and Lithuania, and Rasmussen expects more countries to join the ranks before December 19.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.