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 Denmark |  European Union |
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Denmark in the European Union refers to the historical and current issues ofDenmark's membership in theEuropean Union (EU). Denmark has a permanent representation to the EU inBrussels, led by ambassador Jonas Bering Liisberg.[1][2] Although theKingdom is a member of the EU as a whole, the EU jurisdiction is specifically exempt from the Danish autonomous territories of theFaroe Islands andGreenland.[3][4]
The main economic reason that Denmark joined theEuropean Communities was because it wanted to safeguard its agricultural exports to the United Kingdom.[5]
Denmark formally applied to join theEuropean Communities, the predecessor of theEuropean Union, on 10 August 1961, a day after the British applied.[6] However, the thenPresident of FranceCharles de Gaulle vetoed British membership, and Denmark did not wish to join the EC without the United Kingdom.[7] After much negotiation, and following a change in the French presidency, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom eventually joined the European Communities on 1 January 1973. Denmark and Ireland were so economically linked to the UK that they considered it necessary to join the EC if the UK joined it.[8] The Danish populationvoted for membership, 63.3% being in favour, with a turnout of 90.1%.[9] This was the first of severalenlargements which became a major policy area of the Communities.[10] In 1982,Greenlandvoted to leave the Communities after gaininghome rule from Denmark.[11]
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The EC became accepted and appreciated in Denmark, and an overwhelming majority of the Danish population supported theSingle European Act in 1986.[5]
Danes spurred political awareness ofeuroscepticism and have had a reputation as "reluctant" Europeans. Thefirst Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum in Denmark was held on 2 June 1992, but a shortfall of fewer than 50,000 votes resulted in the treaty not being ratified.[12][13] After the failure, alterations were made to the treaty through theEdinburgh Agreement which grantedDenmark four opt-outs from EU legislation. The treaty was eventually ratified the following year on 18 May 1993, aftera second referendum was held in Denmark.[14]
TheTreaty of Lisbon was ratified by the Danish parliament alone.[15] It was not considered a surrendering of national sovereignty, which would have implied the holding of a referendum according to article 20 of the constitution.[16]
In October 2012, Prime MinisterHelle Thorning-Schmidt demanded a 1 billion kroner rebate in theBudget of the European Union, otherwise she would veto the budget.[17] In February 2013, Denmark and the European Union reached an agreement on a seven-year budget, to approve the Danish demand.[18]
On 25 May 2014, theDanish Unified Patent Court membership referendum was approved with 62.5% of the vote, enabling the government to proceed with the ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, which constitutes the legal basis for the Unified Patent Court.[19][20]
In 2009 the Danish government sought to adjust its opt-outs in several policy areas by referendum, with the aim of deepening the congruence of Danish policies with those of the EU.[21][note 1] This eventually resulted in thereferendum on the home and justice affairs opt-out that took place on 3 December 2015, with the electorate turning down the proposed change to the full opt-out.
Three political parties in theDanish parliament call themselves eurosceptic: theDanish People's Party,[22] theRed-Green Alliance,[23] and theNew Right. Over the years, many anti-EU organisations have been established, for examplePeople's Movement against the EU and theJune Movement.
In July 2011, Denmark reinforced its borders with Germany by stationing more officers, in an effort to halt the flow of illegal goods. The action angered both Germany and Sweden.[24] Minister of Europe Joerg-Uwe Hahn in the state ofHesse called for a boycott of Denmark by tourists. He said: "If Denmark is introducing border controls again during the holiday season, I can only suggest that people turn right around and holiday in Austria or Poland instead."[25] TheEuropean Commission warned Denmark not to breach theSchengen Treaty.[26]
In January 2019, a poll suggested that 8% of the population want to leave the EU.[27]
Denmark uses thekrone as its currency and does not use the euro, having negotiated an opt-out from participation under theEdinburgh Agreement in 1992. In 2000, the government held areferendum on introducing the euro, which was defeated with 46.8% voting yes and 53.2% voting no. The Danish krone is part of theERM-II mechanism, so its exchange rate is tied to within 2.25% of the euro.
Most of the large political parties in Denmark favour the introduction of the euro, and the idea ofa second referendum has been suggested several times since 2000. However, some parties such as the Danish People's Party andSocialist People's Party do not currently support a referendum. Public opinion surveys have shown fluctuating support for the single currency. Majorities were in favour for some years after the physical introduction of the currency; however, support began to fall following the2008 financial crisis, and in late 2011, support for the euro crashed in light of the escalatingEuro area crisis.[28]
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