"Countries around us are tightening conditions. We need to take another step in if we want to protect Denmark" - PM Rasmussen
COPENHAGEN, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Denmark does not see an end to the wave of refugees and migrants streaming into Nordic countries and aims to tighten its immigration policies, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Wednesday.
Europe is struggling to find a common approach on how to deal with a record influx of migrants, but several countries have tightened borders and immigration rules.
European Union leaders are due to meet in Malta for a special two-day migration summit later on Wednesday.
Rasmussen said his cabinet aimed to shorten the duration of residence permits, make it easier to deport those with no legal grounds to stay, and to cut grants for refugees for the second time since a June election that brought the centre-right government to power.
"The pressure is usually lighter in the winter but the opposite is happening now," Rasmussen said at a press briefing.
"Countries around us are tightening conditions ... For that reason as well we need to take another step in Denmark if we want to protect Denmark," Rasmussen said.
Finland has narrowed the criteria for asylum applications and Norway seeks to return a number of Syrian asylum seekers to Russia where they crossed the border.
Neighbouring Sweden, taking in more refugees per capita than any other country in Europe, said last week it cannot guarantee housing for new refugees anymore and is seeking European Union emergency aid.
The EU's border agency said on Tuesday that more than 540,000 people had arrived in the January-October period on Greek islands alone.
Police estimate 20,900 refugees and migrants have entered Denmark the last three months. In October, 3,600 applied for asylum in Denmark, which has a population of around 5.7 million. By contrast, Sweden has taken in 190,000 so far this year.
Rasmussen will meet party leaders on Friday, when he will announce details of his proposals. He said some of the initiatives will not need a vote in parliament.
The populist Danish People's Party welcomed the move. The party had ratcheted up its anti-immigration rhetoric during the election, becoming the second largest party in parliament.
"The government has finally come to the conclusion, that the current situation is not sustainable for Denmark," DF leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl wrote on Facebook.
(Reporting By Alexander Tange; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
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