EU justice strikes against Denmark's "anti-ghetto law"

CopenhagenThe a hard line against immigration The policy that the Danish government has been promoting in recent years has suffered a significant setback from the European courts, now that other European countries, with the United Kingdom at the forefront, intend to emulate the Danish migration model.

From Luxembourg, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the "ghetto law" passed in 2018 may constitute ethnic discrimination, a ruling that represents a major blow to the integration policies of the Nordic countryThe law was passed as a housing reform to eliminate what the government considered "parallel societies"—neighborhoods where more than 50% of residents are of non-Western origin and face socioeconomic difficulties such as poverty and crime. The law, which has served as a pretext for the tightening of asylum and immigration policies implemented by the social democratic government since 2019, aimed to reduce segregation in cities and promote the integration of immigrants by dispersing them.

The result was that the "ghetto law" forced residents of the affected neighborhoods to be forcibly relocated to other areas, while more than 1,000 homes were demolished in the country's major cities and hundreds of families were affected.

The CJEU ruling states that discrimination based on ethnic origin, as stipulated by the law, is prohibited. However, the European court's decision is not definitive in establishing whether the "ghetto law" is illegal, as the Danish courts will now have to make the final determination following the guidelines established by the European judges.

The residents are expecting compensation.

Mejken Felle lived in one of the neighborhoods affected by Copenhagen's "ghetto law," and on Thursday she met with other residents to follow the announcement of the verdict. "I'm satisfied," she says, "although it's been a very difficult few years of uncertainty since we residents decided to take the law to court." During this time, her apartment in the Mjølneparken neighborhood was demolished, and 60% of the residents were forced to relocate. "The buildings were demolished even though we residents were waiting for the court's decision, but they didn't take into account that the decision could be illegal," she says.

In the past, Mjølneparken was a neighborhood associated with gang crimeHowever, residents complain that they have felt stigmatized by the "ghetto law." "I've never heard that I was part of a ghetto, quite the opposite," says Felle. Regarding the residents' legal battle to save the neighborhood, he asserts, "It wasn't just to save my home, but for all of Danish society." "I think it's very worrying that the government discriminates against groups of citizens to take away our civil rights," he laments.

Lisbeth Savgmann is a retiree who was also forced to move out of Mjølneparken. "I felt very safe in the neighborhood, despite the social problems," she acknowledges, adding: "The authorities handled it shamefully, and we residents are now waiting for compensation."

Since the controversial "ghetto law" came into effect, the measure has been criticized by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, which argues that it is based on the unlawful criterion of ethnic origin. It has also been criticized by United Nations rapporteurs for the risk of generating "forced evictions." However, the Danish government has so far ignored the criticism and defended its goal of eliminating the areas it calls "parallel societies" from Denmark by 2030.

17 neighborhoods demolished

Fifteen years ago, the government had a list of 26 neighborhoods classified as ghettos, while today only five remain on the list, and 17 neighborhoods have been demolished. In these areas, the law stipulates harsher penalties for criminal offenses, and collective punishments are applied, such as the eviction of an entire family if one of its members has committed a crime.

Professor Claus Bech-Danielsen of Aalborg University believes that "the medicine works, but it also has side effects, as it creates tremendous frustration among the residents who have to move."

The CJEU ruling comes as Denmark holds the rotating presidency of the EU council, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen clearly intending to push for stricter migration policies across the EU, such as building asylum seeker centers outside Europe and implementing housing laws to abolish existing housing laws. Frederiksen has indicated that, on immigration, ideas previously considered fringe or extreme are increasingly finding support among EU governments, and Denmark is increasingly seen as a potential model of migration management for its European partners.