Egelund lashes out at false accusations from the blue opposition

Denmark's Minister for Research, Education, and Digitalization, Christina Egelund, has strongly refuted what she terms "false accusations" from the blue opposition regarding a student grant increase. Parties including Venstre, Conservatives, Liberal Alliance, and Danmarksdemokraterne have criticized the government, alleging it has abandoned an agreement to raise the "fribeløb" – the amount students can earn monthly alongside their SU (state student grant) without penalty.

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I can completely reject these accusations that we are running away from an agreement and do not want to raise the fribeløb.

Egelund dismissed these claims as "decidedly wrong," stating, "I can completely reject these accusations that we are running away from an agreement and do not want to raise the fribeløb." She questioned the opposition's motives, suggesting they are operating on incomplete information. The controversy stems from a previous agreement made in 2025 by the then-SVM government to increase the fribeløb by 1100 Danish kroner per month.

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I do not know why they are so interested in running with half a wind.

However, a proposed amendment to the SU law, scheduled for its first reading in Parliament, omits the provision for the increased fribeløb. This omission prompted sharp criticism from opposition parties. For instance, Venstre politician Mathilde Hjorth Bressum posted on Facebook that there was "bad news for Danish students" and questioned why the government would remove a measure granting students greater financial freedom. The Conservative education spokesperson, Sofie Svendsen, described the move as "totally sneaky."

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There is bad news for Danish students.

Minister Egelund clarified that the higher fribeløb has not been scrapped but merely postponed. She explained that due to the parliamentary schedule, which began earlier than usual in August, only urgent legislative proposals are being processed. The government has therefore decided to advance parts of the agreement related to administrative tasks and staff relocation within the education sector now, while the remaining aspects, including the fribeløb increase, will be presented in October. Egelund assured that this postponement would not delay students' ability to benefit from the increased earnings allowance.

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It is difficult to understand why the government chooses to remove precisely that part of the proposal which would give students greater freedom to earn a little extra themselves.