The Conservative Party chooses not to vote for citizenship for 2064 individuals. On Tuesday, the Danish Parliament will vote on granting citizenship to 2064 people. Despite the Conservative Party being part of the citizenship agreement from 2021, the party has decided not to vote this time. Brigitte Klintskov Jerkel, who is the citizenship spokesperson for the Conservative Party, considers several of the individuals up for vote as “serial criminals.” “If you want to exclude us from the agreement circle because we insist that criminal foreigners should not receive citizenship, I think it says more about you than about us,” stated Brigitte Klintskov Jerkel in parliament on Tuesday. She also points out that there are automatic deletions in the criminal record, making it difficult to determine if previously convicted individuals are granted citizenship. The Conservative Party will therefore vote yellow, which means the party neither votes for nor against. This decision impacts 2064 applicants hoping to receive citizenship.
Kaare Dybvad Bek, Minister of Immigration and Integration, emphasizes that one cannot be part of an agreement without voting for the legislative proposals that arise from it. “If my own party voted yellow, given that we have 50 mandates in parliament, it would mean that a number of agreements would not be voted through. In this case, it would mean that over 2000 people will not receive citizenship after all and essentially have to start the process over. That is not fair,” the minister said. He also points out that the Conservative Party cannot be part of the agreement if they do not vote for it. “One has to vote for everything. Otherwise, there is not much point in making agreements here,” Dybvad Bek added. Brigitte Klintskov Jerkel subsequently demands a guarantee that there are no criminals among those receiving citizenship. Dybvad Bek responds that he cannot provide this assurance, but highlights that a supplementary criminal check is conducted two years later. Several other Social Democrats, including immigration spokesperson Frederik Vad, argue that not voting for the proposal would not adhere to conventions. However, Brigitte Klintskov Jerkel believes the situation calls for challenging these conventions.