Racism charge

Norwegian town only wants Ukrainian refugees

Drammen wants to choose which refugees it accepts in future.

(Bild: Denis Kabanov/stock.adobe.com)

The fifth-largest Norwegian town of Drammen has decided to only accept Ukrainian refugees - sparking outrage across party lines. Despite previous warnings from the government in Oslo, the city council of Drammen in the south of the country voted on Tuesday to only accept Ukrainian refugees in future.

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe, who leads a center-left government, spoke of an overstepping of authority. "This is not something that cities can decide," he told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK. Drammen is located just 40 kilometers from the capital Oslo and has 120,000 inhabitants. The mayor belongs to the Conservative Party, and the city council has a majority of members from the Conservative Party, an anti-immigration right-wing party, the Christian Democrats and a small pensioners' party.

Jonas Gahr Sturgeon

(Bild: Heiko Junge / NTB)

Prime Minister: "Not legal"
Prime Minister Störe described the city's decision on Wednesday at NRK as "not legal". It is a "fundamental value to ensure equal treatment of people on the run". Erna Solberg, leader of the conservative party, also expressed criticism. No municipality can decide to "only accept refugees from a certain country", she told the NTB news agency. However, it is also not "unusual" to have preferences for countries of origin.

Charge of "institutional racism"
A member of the Norwegian Center Party, which is part of the governing coalition in Oslo, immediately reported the city council to the police for "institutional racism".