PAYING FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS

Denmark is experiencing a boom in asylum seekers, notably (though not exclusively) from the Syrian conflict. The word has got out that the country is a good place to seek asylum. Many of those arriving are delivered by people smugglers or similar; but that doesn't alter the facts on the ground that Denmark is receiving around 3,000 asylum seekers a month.

This puts enormous pressure on local authorities that have to house and feed them, while their applications are being processed. All sorts of building - former schools, camping sites, village halls - are being put to use, putting a strain on integration with local Danes. And it costs a lot.

That cost, likely to be some kr.4.5 billion in 2015, has to be found from somewhere. The ingenious idea is that some kr.3.5 billion of it should be found from the foreign aid budget. Denmark has one of the most generous foreign aid programmes in the world, and is one of only a few countries that meet the U.N. target of 0.7% of GDP. The argument is that helping asylum seekers is in reality helping those foreigners most in need.

The problem of course is that withdrawing funding from poor countries may simply make it more likely that desperate people from those countries will want to flee and seek asylum in the rich West. However, that issue is for the future. The problem is acute and immediate, and money must be found. Raiding the foreign aid budget solves that.

Walter Blotscher