Indeed, while Denmark is something of an outlier in the EU, its officials have been driving a recent reappraisal of the bloc’s entire approach to migration.
After the EU adopted a new Migration and Asylum Pact in 2024, Denmark quietly led a group of 20 nations to propose further revisions to the way Europe handles asylum requests and deportations, according to two EU diplomats.
This effort fed into a new “Directive on returns,” published earlier this month by the European Commission, that gives states legal guidance on how they can speed up deportations to third countries or third states where migrants were previously employed, similar to the law Denmark passed in 2021 to allow the country to move refugees to Rwanda.
The bloc is also shelling out billions of euros to keep migrants from reaching its shores. Last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen inked a €7 billion deal with Egypt to boost development and deter irregular migration. The EU has also rushed to restore diplomatic ties with Syria, where it hopes to start returning more migrants after the fall of Assad despite recent outbreaks of sectarian violence.
“Of course we are all looking at what is going on in Syria. It’s not a political choice whether a country is safe or not. We have authorities looking into that,” she said.
For Frederiksen, such outlays don’t clash with Europe’s other big focus — defense. Instead, they’re all part of the same effort to make Europe more secure for its citizens.
“If I ask people about security and their security concerns, many of them will reply that Russia and defending Europe is top of mind right now. But security is also about what is going on in your local community,” Frederiksen said.
“Do you feel safe where you live? When you go and take your local train, or when your kids are going home from school, or whatever is going on in your daily life?”