COPENHAGEN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Citizens of 27 countries may no longer be able to apply for Danish visas from their home country as joint visa issuance agreements between Denmark and certain EU countries have been suspended, it emerged here Thursday.
Currently, various European countries who are members of the Schengen treaty process Danish visas on its behalf. This is because Denmark does not have an embassy or consulate to process visa applications in many countries.
However, Denmark suspended these arrangements with Finland and Germany in September last year, while France cancelled its visa cooperation with Denmark on January 1.
According to Denmark's Politiken newspaper, the Danish immigration ministry required the Danish police and intelligence services to be consulted before countries could issue a visa for Denmark.
France, Germany and Finland said they could not meet this demand, citing too many administrative problems.
"We have such agreements with over 30 countries, and that functions perfectly well according to the set rules," said Eric Bosc, deputy spokesperson at the French foreign ministry. "The problem is that the Danish authorities do not wish to follow normal procedures," he told Politiken.
Citizens of the 27 affected countries, which include Tunisia, Peru, Qatar and Libya, will instead have to travel to another country which has a Danish embassy or consulate, or where there is another EU country embassy which can issue the visa on Denmark's behalf.
Denmark's Minister of Justice Morten Boedskov said the suspensions arose from "technical problems" and that the agreement with Germany would be reestablished "in a couple of months."
However, many acknowledge Denmark's interests are hurt when foreign citizens cannot apply for a Danish visa from their home country.
"The implication is that it is more difficult to apply for a Danish visa, and that is unfortunate," said Ole Brix, head of citizen services in Denmark's foreign ministry.
"It affects trade and tourism, as well as family and friends who wish to come here," he said.
The fact that the new visa rules affect big oil producers and Denmark's trade partners such as Libya and Bahrain causes much concern.
"We are a small, open economy that is extremely reliant on trade and foreign investment," said Peter Thagesen, marketing policy chief of the Confederation of Danish Industry.
"Foreign interest in investing in Denmark is falling, for several reasons, but when it is difficult to travel here, that interest cools even further," he told Politiken.
Analysts also fear the visa spat could damage Denmark's international reputation at a time when it is holding the EU's rotating six-month presidency.
