NORDIC migration and justice ministers today announced a deal to strengthen efforts to repatriate migrants and deport illegal residents to third countries.

Denmark has spearheaded harder lines on migrants in the Nordics and stepped up initiatives to discourage immigration and put roadblocks for the acquisition of Danish nationality.

Today’s deal followed a two-day meeting with Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Denmark ministers in Copenhagen.

The first of three agreed initiatives was to increase collaboration between migration attachés responsible for deportation.

“The attaches will meet regularly and together strengthen cooperation with third countries to better carry out returns to the countries in question and provide reintegration support,” Denmark’s Immigration Ministry said in a statement.

The second was to cooperate on joint flights from “a Nordic country to a third country, so that people without legal residence in several of the Nordic countries can depart from one Nordic country to a third country”, the statement said, adding it would be done in collaboration with the European Union’s border surveillance agency Frontex.

Thirdly, efforts would be taken to increase support for “stranded irregular migrants in North Africa” – including “assisted voluntary return to their own countries”.

Harder lines on migration have been adopted across much of the Nordic region in recent years.

Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Kaare Dybvad Bek was quoted as saying the countries had “a common interest in ensuring foreigners without legal residence were sent home”.

“We must prevent them from travelling across our countries and slipping under the radar of the authorities,” he said.

Denmark’s social democrat Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been an advocate of a “zero refugees” objective in the Scandinavian country since she came to power in 2019.

Denmark was the first country in Europe to withdraw the residence permits of Syrian refugees from the Damascus region in 2020, saying the situation there was safe enough. – AFP, October 31, 2023.