Denmark's Controversial Farm Internship Scheme Faces Growing Criticism

Pressure is mounting on Denmark’s Minister for Foreigners and Integration, Rasmus Stoklund of the Social Democrats, to shut down the widely criticized agricultural trainee program. The scheme, long under fire from the Socialist People’s Party (SF), has now drawn formal opposition from both the Red-Green Alliance (EL) and the Alternative party. All three parties have publicly declared their readiness to abolish the arrangement. The controversy centers on concerns that the program enables exploitation rather than genuine vocational training. One critic described it bluntly as “exploitation work,” reflecting growing unease about how foreign nationals are treated within this framework. In response to escalating scrutiny, Minister Stoklund has been summoned to a parliamentary hearing to answer questions about the program’s future. As debate intensifies in Copenhagen, the issue touches on core questions about fairness in Denmark’s immigration policy and labor practices. While the government has not yet announced any changes, the unified stance from multiple opposition parties signals a potential turning point. For many observers following Danish society news, the fate of this program may reveal deeper tensions within the country’s approach to integration and social policy.