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 Denmark |  European Union |
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Denmark in the European Union refers to the historical and current issues of Denmark's membership in the European Union (EU). Denmark has a permanent representation to the EU in Brussels, led by ambassador Jonas Bering Liisberg. [1] [2]
The main economic reason that Denmark joined the European Communities was because it wanted to safeguard its agricultural exports to the United Kingdom. [3]
Denmark formally applied to join the European Communities, the predecessor of the European Union, on 10 August 1961, a day after the British applied. [4] However, the then President of France Charles de Gaulle vetoed British membership, and Denmark did not wish to join the EC without the United Kingdom. [5] 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. [6] The Danish population voted for membership, 63.3% being in favour, with a turnout of 90.1%. [7] This was the first of several enlargements which became a major policy area of the Communities. [8] In 1982, Greenland voted to leave the Communities after gaining home rule from Denmark. [9]
The EC became accepted and appreciated in Denmark, and an overwhelming majority of the Danish population supported the Single European Act in 1986. [3]
Danes spurred political awareness of euroscepticism and have had a reputation as "reluctant" Europeans. The first 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. [10] [11] After the failure, alterations were made to the treaty through the addition of the Edinburgh Agreement which lists four Danish exceptions. The treaty was eventually ratified the following year on 18 May 1993, after a second referendum was held in Denmark. [12]
The Treaty of Lisbon was ratified by the Danish parliament alone. [13] 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. [14]
In October 2012, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt demanded a 1 billion kroner rebate in the Budget of the European Union, otherwise she would veto the budget. [15] In February 2013, Denmark and the European Union reached an agreement on a seven-year budget, to approve the Danish demand. [16]
On 25 May 2014, the Danish 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. [17] [18]
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. [19] [note 1] This eventually resulted in the referendum 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 the Danish parliament call themselves eurosceptic: the Danish People's Party, [20] the Red-Green Alliance, [21] and the New Right. Over the years, many anti-EU organisations have been established, for example People's Movement against the EU and the June 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. [22] Minister of Europe Joerg-Uwe Hahn in the state of Hesse 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." [23] The European Commission warned Denmark not to breach the Schengen Treaty. [24]
In January 2019, a poll suggested that 8% of the population want to leave the EU. [25]
Denmark uses the krone as its currency and does not use the euro, having negotiated an opt-out from participation under the Edinburgh Agreement in 1992. In 2000, the government held a referendum on introducing the euro, which was defeated with 46.8% voting yes and 53.2% voting no. The Danish krone is part of the ERM-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 of a second referendum has been suggested several times since 2000. However, some parties such as the Danish People's Party and Socialist 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 the financial crisis of 2008, and in late 2011, support for the euro crashed in light of the escalating European sovereign debt crisis. [26]
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the process of European integration" chiefly in provisions for a shared European citizenship, for the eventual introduction of a single currency, and for common foreign and security policies. Although these were widely seen to presage a "federal Europe", the focus of constitutional debate shifted to the later 2007 Treaty of Lisbon. In the wake of the Eurozone debt crisis unfolding from 2009, the most enduring reference to the Maastricht Treaty has been to the rules of compliance – the "Maastricht criteria" – for the currency union.
The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro as part of the European Monetary System (EMS), to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe.
The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) it helped codify European Political Co-operation. The amending treaty was signed at Luxembourg City on 17 February 1986 and at The Hague on 28 February 1986. It came into effect on 1 July 1987, under the Delors Commission.
Multi-speed Europe or two-speed Europe is the idea that different parts of the European Union should integrate at different levels and pace depending on the political situation in each individual country. Indeed, multi-speed Europe is currently a reality, with only a subset of EU countries being members of the eurozone and of the Schengen area. Like other forms of differentiatedintegration such as à la carte and variable geometry, "multi-speed Europe" arguably aims to salvage the "widening and deepening of the European Union" in the face of political opposition.
This is a list of referendums related to the European Union, or referendums related to the European Communities, which were predecessors of the European Union. Since 1972, a total of 48 referendums have been held by EU member states, candidate states, and their territories, with several additional referendums held in countries outside the EU. The referendums have been held most commonly on the subject of whether to become a member of European Union as part of the accession process, although the EU does not require any candidate country to hold a referendum to approve membership or as part of treaty ratification. Other EU-related referendums have been held on the adoption of the euro and on participation in other EU-related policies.
The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the eighth President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms. The first term lasted from 1985 to 1988, the second until 1992 and the final one until 1994, making Delors the longest serving president, and his Commission is also seen as the most successful at advancing European integration. It was the only Commission to serve three times, and Delors served five two-year terms. The third Commission was the first Commission of the European Union, the Maastricht Treaty having come into force in 1993.
Denmark uses the krone as its currency and does not use the euro, having negotiated the right to opt out from participation under the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. In 2000, the government held a referendum on introducing the euro, which was defeated with 53.2% voting no and 46.8% voting yes. The Danish krone is part of the ERM II mechanism, so its exchange rate is tied to within 2.25% of the euro.
Between 1973 and 1993 the European Communities saw the first enlargement of the Communities. On 1 January 1973, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom became the first countries to join the Communities. The détente allowed initiation of the reunification of the continent through establishing the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. Greece was the next to join EC on 1 January 1981, followed by Spain and Portugal joining on 1 January 1986, while Turkey has initiated the procedure in 1987. Upon the fall of the Iron Curtain, the CSCE was transformed in 1990 into Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Communities enlarged for a fourth time through the German reunification, while other former communist European countries stated their firm commitment to join, prompting formulation of the Copenhagen criteria. This period was, however, also the one which witnessed the first voluntary exit from the Communities, namely the one of Greenland in 1985. The integration progressed under the Delors Commission resulting in the creation of the European Union in 1993.
A referendum on joining the Eurozone was held in Denmark on 28 September 2000. It was rejected by 53.2% of voters with a turnout of 87.6%.
A referendum on the Maastricht Treaty for the founding of the European Union was held in Denmark on 2 June 1992. The treaty was rejected by 50.7% of voters with a turnout of 83.1%. This meant a serious hurdle on the way in the process of further European integration, which nevertheless did continue because all twelve memberstates did want to ratify.
The Edinburgh Agreement or Edinburgh Decision is a December 1992 agreement reached at a European Council meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, that granted Denmark four exceptions to the Maastricht Treaty so that it could be ratified by Denmark. This was necessary because, without all member states of the European Union ratifying it, it could not come into effect. Denmark had first rejected the Maastricht treaty, but with the addition of the Edinburgh Agreement, ratified the treaty in a 1993 referendum. The member states that had already ratified the Maastricht Treaty did not have to do so again.
The enlargement of the eurozone is an ongoing process within the European Union (EU). All member states of the European Union, except Denmark which negotiated an opt-out from the provisions, are obliged to adopt the euro as their sole currency once they meet the criteria, which include: complying with the debt and deficit criteria outlined by the Stability and Growth Pact, keeping inflation and long-term governmental interest rates below certain reference values, stabilising their currency's exchange rate versus the euro by participating in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, and ensuring that their national laws comply with the ECB statute, ESCB statute and articles 130+131 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The obligation for EU member states to adopt the euro was first outlined by article 109.1j of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, which became binding on all new member states by the terms of their treaties of accession.
In general, the law of the European Union is valid in all of the twenty-seven European Union member states. However, occasionally member states negotiate certain opt-outs from legislation or treaties of the European Union, meaning they do not have to participate in certain policy areas. Currently, three states have such opt-outs: Denmark, Ireland and Poland. The United Kingdom had four opt-outs before leaving the Union.
Denmark holds opt-outs from European Union policies in relation to police and justice and the adoption of the euro. They were secured under the Edinburgh Agreement in 1992 after a referendum for the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty was rejected by Danish voters, as a package of measure to assuage concerns raised during that referendum.
The history of the European Union between 1993 and 2004 was the period between its creation and the 2004 enlargement. The European Union was created at the dawn of the post–Cold War era and saw a series of successive treaties laying the ground for the euro, foreign policy and future enlargement. Three new member states joined the previous twelve in this period and the European Economic Area extended the reach of the EU's markets to three more.
The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the European Union (EU) member states which sets out the EU's constitutional basis. They establish the various EU institutions together with their remit, procedures and objectives. The EU can only act within the competences granted to it through these treaties and amendment to the treaties requires the agreement and ratification of every single signatory.
A referendum on one of the country's opt-outs from the European Union was held in Denmark on 3 December 2015. Specifically, the referendum was on whether to convert Denmark's current full opt-out on home and justice matters into an opt-out with case-by-case opt-in similar to those held by Ireland and the United Kingdom. Approval of the referendum was needed for Denmark to remain in Europol under the new rules. However, it was rejected by 53% of voters.
The United Kingdom was a member state of the European Union (EU) and of its predecessor the European Communities (EC) – principally the European Economic Community (EEC) from 1 January 1973 until 31 January 2020. Since the foundation of the EEC, the UK had been an important neighbour and then leading member state, until Brexit ended 47 years of membership. During the UK's time as a member state two referendums were held on the issue of its membership, with the first being held on 5 June 1975, resulting in a vote to stay in the EC, and the second, held on 23 June 2016, which resulted in the vote to leave the EU.
Danish withdrawal from the European Union is the hypothesis that Denmark might leave the European Union (EU). Leaving the EU is officially supported by just two of the political parties represented in the Danish Parliament, with less than 8% of the total seats.
The United Kingdom was a member state of the European Union and of its predecessor the European Communities from 1973 until 2020. Since the foundation of the European Communities, it has been an important neighbour, and was a leading member state until its withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020 as a result of Brexit, ending 47 years of membership.
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State. Member states of the European Union | ||
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