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Liberal MEPs call for full electoral rights for non-Danish residents from EU countries

Ben Hamilton
November 9th, 2016


This article is more than 8 years old.

Meanwhile, another proposal calls for ‘associate EU citizenships’ to be made available to citizens of former union countries, such as Britain

This way, this way, never mind the cycle lane …. (photo: justgrimes)

Members of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (GALDE) have submitted two proposals to the European Parliament that make interesting reading for non-Danish residents from other EU countries – particularly those who feel disenfranchised in a country in which they work and pay taxes – along with Brits uncertain of their future following the Brexit vote.

Full electoral rights proposal
Three members of GALDE – Luxembourg MEP Charles Goerens, French MEP Sylvie Goulard and Spanish MEP Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz – have submitted a proposal to the European Parliament that could potentially affect all non-Danish residents from EU countries living in Denmark, and across the union.

It calls for full electoral rights for foreign residents in EU countries, extending their right to vote in local elections to provincial, regional, and national elections (see Amendment 883 below).

It is believed that should the proposal be approved in Denmark it will apply to residents who have lived here continuously for at least three years.

Freedom to move proposal
Meanwhile, Goerens has suggested in another proposal that Brits living in other EU countries should retain some of their union rights should the Brexit go ahead.

READ MORE: More Brits wanting Danish citizenship in wake of Brexit

Open to nationals of all countries that have left the EU, the ‘associate EU citizenship’ would enable holders to freely travel between EU states and to live in them (see Amendment 882 below).


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”