A record 45 Danish municipalities have applied for state special grants, seeking around 2.7 billion kroner to help balance their 2027 budgets.
DR reports that 45 municipalities have applied to the so-called særtilskudspulje, the grant pool reserved for municipalities in particularly difficult financial circumstances. Local councils are due to learn the outcome at the end of August, while they finalize their budgets for next year.
The combined amount applied for is just over 2.7 billion kroner. According to NB Økonomi, cited by DR, that is a record. DKNyt puts the total at 2.74 billion kroner and has published a list of every applicant municipality and the sum it requested.
Danske Kommuner reports that the pool available for 2027 is 1 billion kroner, based on applications obtained from the Ministry of the Interior and Health. That means municipalities have asked for close to three times the money on the table.
DR, which obtained access to all of the applications, reports that many municipalities point to rising costs for elderly care and a large share of residents on transfer income. Several also describe exploding expenses in specialized social services, covering children, young people and adults with disabilities or other vulnerabilities.
Local circumstances feature in the applications as well, per DR. Several island municipalities cite higher ferry costs, while Randers Municipality writes that it is still paying for the cleanup after the Nordic Waste landslide.
Mogens Ove Madsen, a lecturer in economics at Aalborg University, told DR he was surprised that close to half of the country’s municipalities applied. He said he would have expected applications from around 20 municipalities.
Madsen argued that the municipal equalization system, which moves money from wealthier municipalities to poorer ones, does not function optimally. As stated by Madsen, outer municipalities are not compensated enough for ageing populations, young people moving away, and weaker business conditions. He added that municipalities have no influence over where people and companies relocate.
Why the decision lands now
The timing follows the annual municipal budget cycle. Budget guidance from the Ministry of the Interior and Health sets the application deadline in early August and states that the pools target municipalities with demographic, socio-economic and persistent economic challenges. Decisions are intended to be issued as early as possible in August to support local budget work.
The pool has been expanded in recent years. The Ministry of Finance’s agreement on municipal and regional economy for 2026 raised the grant pool for the most strained municipalities to 800 million kroner that year. Danske Kommuner reports it was lifted to 1 billion kroner in the economy agreement for 2027.
