Danish Member of the European Parliament Anders Vistisen has accused Brussels of merging its climate and migration agendas into a single policy designed to expand migration into the European Union. Vistisen, chief whip for the populist-nationalist Patriots for Europe group, pointed to an EU-funded program titled the “Enhanced Anticipatory Response to Climate-Induced Displacement,” which he says is a tool to bypass border controls under the guise of humanitarian climate action.
The program allocated a grant of DKK 5,215,000 ($818,000) in EU taxpayer funds to the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) to assist migrants allegedly displaced by climate-related factors in resettling within Europe. Vistisen criticized the initiative’s vague language, calling it “another slippery slope” where climate concerns are used as a “moral argument for open borders.”
“This is not about real prevention or adaptation,” Vistisen warned. “It is about moving the migration discussion away from law and border control and into the climate department of emotional politics.” He argued that the EU is using such programs to pressure member states to accept more migrants without proper democratic debate.
The Danish Refugee Council has a long record of helping asylum seekers enter the EU, including legal aid for navigating the asylum process and lobbying governments for more lenient migration policies. Beyond EU funding, the DRC was once heavily supported by U.S. taxpayer dollars, receiving tens of millions annually through the State Department’s USAID program before it was shut down by the Trump administration in February. At that time, U.S. funding accounted for roughly 20 percent of the DRC’s budget, prompting the organization to announce plans to lay off around 2,000 staff.
Vistisen’s comments reflect a broader concern among European nationalists that climate policy is being weaponized to erode national borders and sovereignty. The EU, however, continues to present such initiatives as part of its humanitarian response to global challenges.
