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Danish party proposes more cash to motivate refugees to leave

Xinhua, August 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Denmark's opposition Social Democratic Party has proposed to offer more financial incentives to refugees willing to return to their home countries voluntarily, local media reported Thursday.

Instead of the current "cash-for-repatriation" offer of some 130,000 Danish kroner (about 19,697 U.S. dollars), the Social Democrats want to give refugees and immigrants 200,000 kroner in cash together with a one-way ticket back to their home country, according to Danish news agency Ritzau.

"We must ensure that people who would rather go home and rebuild a life have the opportunity to do so," the Social Democratic Party's integration spokesman Dan Joergensen was quoted as saying.

He also described the measure as "hitting two birds with one stone", indicating that it can provide savings in Denmark as it is expensive to take care of refugees in the country.

"I am pleased that the Social Democrats also focus on repatriation. We do as well," Denmark's Integration Minister Inger Stoejberg said of the proposal.

While the Danish People's Party is in favor of all the incentives that encourage refugees and immigrants to go home, the government's support party the Conservatives also have a positive attitude towards the proposal.

Joergensen said it is a voluntary scheme and the success criterion is that "everyone who wants it must be given the opportunity."

He also acknowledged that a large part of the refugees will choose to stay in Denmark out of the conviction that they have the brightest future here, but not in a war-torn homeland.

In recent years, the number of refugees accepting a cash bonus offer from the Danish state to return to their home countries has fallen.

Data from the Danish Refugee Council, which administers the repatriation scheme, shows that the number of people accepting the cash offer of some 130,000 kroner has fallen from 261 in 2011 to 152 in 2015. (1 U.S. dollar = 6.6 Danish kroner) Endit