Denmark failing at Roma integration

The EU has criticised Denmark for doing a poor job integrating the estimated 10,000 Roma people who live in the country, according to Ekstra Bladet. Two Roma families living in Helsingør were cited as examples of how failing to integrate into society created a criminal culture that permeates entire families and neighbourhoods. The two families – Nika and Stallone – number in the hundreds, and many of them have been sent to prison for crimes committed throughout Denmark.

Laza Stallone, who last year slammed Helsingør’s efforts to support the Roma community, has been convicted of crimes several times, including a case in February in which he and two of his sons were found guilty of extortion and making death threats to a former employer. The Nika family are also no stranger to northern courtrooms. Last year, Petar Nika was sentenced to 18 years in prison for 14 cases of theft, mostly by fraudulent means targeting the elderly and infirm. Other family members have been convicted of crimes ranging from theft and fraud to receiving stolen property.

In 2011, the European Commission ruled that all member states should develop a national strategy for Roma integration, noting that the group often fails to integrate. Denmark presented a revised Roma integration plan in April, but the EU said that it was weak. Some of the problem areas mentioned were: a lack of funds allocated for Roma integration, too few campaigns to tackle prejudices against Roma residents, and the inability of Danish authorities to measure the effectiveness of its integration efforts. Denmark does not register Roma residents, so there is no overview of the number of Roma people living in the country, or where they live or their social situation. “The lack of precise knowledge of the situation of Roma people makes it difficult to assess the social and economic impacts of the Danish initiatives,” Mina Andreeva, the EU justice spokesperson, told Ekstra Bladet. “We need Denmark to submit documentation on how these measures work in practice.”

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More immigrants than ever coming to Denmark

Never before have so many foreign citizens moved to Denmark as now, according to a new report from the national stats keepers, Danmarks Statistik. Within the last year, 59,274 foreigners – hailing mostly from Europe – have arrived in Denmark. Romania leads the way with 4,919, followed by Poland (4,376), while the greatest increase comes from war-torn Syria (2,500), figures revealed.

“In particular, they are coming from EU nations,” Bent Greve, a society researcher from Roskilde University, told Metroxpress newspaper. “That confirms the image of an open European labour market. It could prove to be a healthy and positive sign for the Danish economy over time.”

One third of the immigrants hail from non-western nations, such as Syria, but India and China are also well-represented in the statistics, with almost 2,000 immigrants arriving from each nation. Aside from the nearly 60,000 immigrants to arrive, 21,441 people with Danish citizenship have also arrived back in Denmark.

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Listeria outbreak in Denmark has now claimed 12 lives in 12 months

Since September last year, 12 people have died of listeria and a further eight have been infected after consuming some bad ‘rullepølse’ sandwich meat. The food product authorities Fødevarestyrelsen suspect that the bad meat originated from Jørn A Rullepølser in Hedehusene near Copenhagen and have closed down the producer. The 20 infected patients consist of eleven women and nine men aged 43-89 from various parts of Denmark, according to the national serum institute Statens Seruminstitut.

“From September 2013 until today, 20 patients have been registered suffering from listeriosis, which is an aspect of the outbreak,” Statens Seruminstitut wrote in a press release. “Most cases have however occurred recently. In June, July, and August, 15 cases have been registered alone.”  Similar to previous cases, the 12 people who died also suffered from other serious illnesses and their deaths cannot completely be attributed to a listeria infection, Statens Seruminstitut stated.

Patients suffering from listeria, which often manifests itself as a blood poisoning or meningitis, are often admitted to hospital with symptoms that include fever, nausea and eventually diarrhoea and vomiting. The mortality rate is about 25 percent. The incubation time for listeriosis is between one and 70 days (usually seven to 21 days) and the long incubation times often make it difficult to locate the infection source. About 50 cases of listeriosis are registered in Denmark every year.