Ms. Isabel Santos
Chairperson,
OSCE PA General Committee on Democracy,
Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions
Tordenskjoldsgade 1
1055 København K
Parliament of Denmark
Secretariat of the Danish
OSCE PA Delegation
Christiansborg
DK-1240 Copenhagen K
Tel. +45 33 37 55 00
Fax +45 33 32 85 36
www.ft.dk
27 January 2016
Ref. 15-000029-2
Contact
Eva Esmarch
Chief Advisor
Dir. tel. +45 61623053
Dear colleague,
Dear Isabel,
Thank you very much for your letter dated 21 January 2016 on the serious sit-
uation following the refugee crisis. In my opinion there has been many misun-
derstandings regarding the Danish initiatives and regarding the Bill L 87.
Let me start by saying, that Denmark is currently facing a very large number
of refugees and immigrants seeking protection from prosecution and war, as
well as poverty. Denmark is one of the countries the EU that have taken and
still take more asylum seekers per capita than most other EU Member States.
Denmark is one of only five countries in the world to meet the target set by the
UN to devote at least 0.7 per cent of GNI to development assistance. Den-
mark is also recognized for promoting human rights at home and abroad, and
we act in respect of our international obligations.
Earlier this week the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Danish Minis-
ter for Immigration, Integration and Housing met with the Committee on Civil
Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament. I in-
clude the speaking points used by the two Danish ministers when they ad-
dressed the members of the European Parliament on 25 January 2016. I hope
that these speaking points may clarify any misunderstandings regarding the
Danish Bill L 87.
I appreciate that you as Chair for the General Committee on Democracy, Hu-
man Rights and Humanitarian Questions have taken interest in Denmark. I
can assure you that Denmark will continue an active engagement within the
OSCE PA on migration and refugee issues. The solution to the crises must
first and foremost address the underlying causes of the refugee and migration
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