After staying out of the EU’s common defense policy for 30 years, Denmark will vote in a referendum on Wednesday on whether to lift its exemption following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
More than 65 percent of the country’s 4.3 million eligible voters are expected to vote to abolish the exemption, the latest opinion poll published on Sunday indicated.
However, analysts’ predictions have been cautious given the low turnout expected in a country that has often said “no” to further EU integration, by 2015.
“We must always cast our votes when there is a vote,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen urged the Danes in the campaign’s final TV debate on Sunday.
“I believe with all my heart that we must vote yes. At a time when we need to fight for security in Europe, we must be more united with our neighbors,” she said.
Denmark has been a member of the EU since 1973, but it put the brakes on transferring more power to Brussels in 1992 when 50.7 percent of Danes rejected the Maastricht Treaty, the EU’s founding treaty.
It needed to be ratified by all Member States to enter into force. To convince the Danes to approve the treaty, Copenhagen negotiated a number of exceptions and the Danes finally approved it the following year.
Since then, Denmark has been outside the European single currency, the euro – which was rejected in a referendum in 2000 – as well as the bloc’s common policy on justice and home affairs and defense.
“Ukraine the biggest reason”
Defense opt-out means that the Scandinavian country, a founder of NATO, does not participate in the EU’s foreign policy regarding defense and does not contribute troops to the EU’s military mission.
Denmark is the only country that has negotiated a defense opt-out, even though Malta is de facto also outside. Copenhagen has exercised its exception 235 times in 29 years, according to a compilation from the think tank Europa.
The Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen announced the referendum just two weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and after reaching an agreement with a majority of the parties in Denmark’s parliament, the Folketing.
At the same time, she also announced plans to increase defense spending to two percent of GDP, in line with the requirements for NATO membership, by 2033.
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“It was a big surprise,” said Lykke Friis, head of the think tank Europa.
“For the past many, many years, no one has believed that the government would put the defense opt-out to a national referendum,” she said.
“There is no doubt that Ukraine was the main reason for calling the referendum.”
Berlin’s announcement that it is turning decades of defense policy by massively raising its military spending also played a key role in the Danish decision, Friis said.
Germany is Denmark’s closest ally, along with the United States.
“The very fact that they increased their game put Denmark in a position where we could no longer hide behind Germany.”
“NATO is enough”
Eleven of Denmark’s 14 parties have called on voters to say ‘yes’ to canceling the opt-out, which represents more than three quarters of the seats in parliament.
Two right-wing extremist Eurosceptic parties – the Danish People’s Party and the New Right – as well as the far left Unity List have meanwhile called on the Danes to say “no”.
One of their main arguments is that the emergence of a common European defense would take place at the expense of NATO, which has been the cornerstone of Denmark’s defense since its creation in 1949.
“NATO is the guarantor of Denmark’s security. It would be completely different if it was decided in Brussels,” argued the head of the Danish People’s Party, Morten Messerschmitt, during Sunday’s debate.
Sweden and Finland are approaching NATO membership
After Finland and Sweden recently turned around decades of military freedom of alliance to apply for NATO membership, and the Danish referendum, the three Nordic neighbors could suddenly find themselves doubled in terms of European defense policy and NATO membership.
The result of the referendum is expected around 11 pm on Wednesday.
Denmark’s autonomous territories Greenland – which is not a member of the EU – and the Faroe Islands do not participate in the referendum.
In December 2015, the Danes voted “no” to strengthening their cooperation with the EU on police and security issues for fear of losing their sovereignty over immigration.
(- AFP)
Source: sn.dk