Denmark
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Immigrant women encouraged to join voluntary associations
An action plan, consisting of over fifty initiatives, was launched by the Minister for Social Affairs and Gender Equality, Eva Kjer Hansen, in January.
1 July 2006 (89 words)
Research into immigrant 'underclass'
A report by the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions suggests that employment among young men and women from immigrant backgrounds has fallen by 4.2 and 5.5 per cent respectively.
1 July 2006 (117 words)
DPP seeks to influence government's welfare agenda
The chair of the DPP's parliamentary group, Kristian Thuelsen Dahl, says that reducing the number of immigrants is the only way to ensure the future of the welfare state.
11 April 2006 (225 words)
Integration debate follows cartoon affair
Rikke Hvilshoj said that the government had to ensure that concepts such as freedom of expression and the rule of law were accepted as fundamental values for all.
14 March 2006 (159 words)
Changes increase hurdles for citizenship and create suspicion
Following immigration changes, it will be much harder to gain Danish citizenship.
7 March 2006 (426 words)
New family reunification measures criticised
The governing Liberal Party is considering introducing language and democracy tests in home countries as a precondition for family reunification.
7 March 2006 (332 words)
Minister of cultural affairs attacks multiculturalism
A week before the Jyllands Posten published the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Brian Mikkelsen, minister of cultural affairs, addressed the Conservative Party annual conference, saying, 'we have gone to war against the multicultural ideology that says everything is equally good.
1 March 2006 (139 words)
Support for DPP increases with cartoon affair
A poll by Megafon for broadcaster TV2 found that support for the Danish People's Party (DPP) grew by 4.
6 February 2006 (217 words)
Points system introduced as immigrants blamed for welfare state problems
The minister of health and the interior, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, says that tighter restrictions on immigration from developing countries are to be introduced and that such immigrants would only be granted entry if they have the necessary qualifications to secure a job immediately.
30 January 2006 (370 words)
Council of Europe Commissioner criticises Denmark
The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, Alvaro Gil-Robles, described Danes as 'primitive nationalists' in an article in Kristeligt Dagblad, while Sweden's leading newspaper Aftonbladet branded Denmark as 'the most racially prejudiced country in Europe'.
19 January 2006 (128 words)
Anti-racist declaration signed
In December 2005, twelve Danish authors published a 'Declaration regarding ethnic discrimination in Denmark' in the newspaper Politiken, in which they protested against the disparagement directed particularly at Muslim fellow-citizens.
16 January 2006 (167 words)
DPP tells church not to dabble in politics
At the end of 2005, a number of priests criticised Danish integration policies.
1 January 2006 (115 words)
Research claims immigrant youth more likely to commit crime
According to a report from the ministry of justice, Danes from immigrant backgrounds are five times more likely to commit crime than ethnic Danes.
1 January 2006 (177 words)
Demonstrators criticise language tests
In December 2005, hundreds of immigrants, refugees and language teachers protested outside parliament against the new immigration and citizenship regulations.
1 January 2006 (138 words)
Councils not complying with immigration law on integration contracts
According to a Ramboll Management study, many councils are not meeting government requirements of filing contracts on individual immigrants within one month of their arrival.
25 December 2004 (100 words)
Creation of new cultural canon
Culture minister Brian Mikkelsen says the government's proposed national cultural canon will renew focus on the nation's heritage.
10 December 2004 (126 words)
US lists Danish group as terrorist supporter
The Danish foreign ministry has asked the US finance department to clarify why the independent Scandinavian Relief Association (ISRA) has been added to its list of terrorist organisations.
23 October 2004 (64 words)
Rise in immigrant homeless
In five years, the number of immigrants in Copenhagen's homeless shelters has increased from five to fifty per cent.
12 October 2004 (83 words)
Danish PM shunned Muslims in dialogue on integration
The Muslim community has been very critical of Anders Fogh Rasmussen for failing to invite one Muslim representative to a dialogue of 22 guests at his official residence.
12 October 2004 (61 words)
Refugees to be selected on 'integratability'
The government's think-tank on integration has proposed that Denmark should select its quota of 500 UN refugees on the basis of their ability to successfully integrate into society.
7 October 2004 (76 words)
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