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SWP Comments, Vol. 1 (January 2017) – Refugee Policy in Northern Europe: Nordic Countries Grow Closer but Differences Remain

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One year after the great refugee influx reached Europe, lasting changes are seen to have occurred in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. All four have tightened their asylum policies, in some cases drastically, and border controls between them have been reinstated for the first time since the 1950s. While differences over joint EU migration policy also remain, the situation has also created awareness of the need to improve coordination of migration and integration policies in Northern Europe. Closer coordination with Germany would also be desirable.

While the Nordic countries share a great deal in common, especially in socio-economic terms, their migration and refugee policies have diverged, sometimes widely.
While Denmark, Finland and Norway have pursued restrictive approaches since the 1990s, Sweden has long maintained one of Europe’s most generous refugee policies.
The roots of the disparities lie in their different cultures of consensus and debate.
The political elite in Sweden – across the political spectrum – implemented humanitarian ideals, but without conducting a public debate over national migration policy. Denmark possesses a stronger culture of debate, and public influence over politics is therefore larger. The Danish conservative and liberal parties have also directed greater attention to the migration question than is the case in Sweden. Denmark is generally a liberal and progressive society, where high wages and generous social policies are seen as the reward for hard work and paying into the expensive system. Widespread Danish reservations towards refugees are based on a belief that many of the new arrivals will be unable to adapt and live up to this principle.