The danes they began to vote this Wednesday in a referendum that will determine whether the country enters the defense policy of the European Unionafter having remained on the sidelines for 30 years, a new consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Yes is the favorite among the 4.3 million Danes called to the polls after exceeding 65% of voting intentions in the latest poll published on Sunday. Polling stations opened at 0800 (0600 GMT) and will close at 0800 (1800 GMT) and the results are expected overnight. At the Copenhagen City Hall, the first Danes started voting early in the morning.
“The history is changing and it affects us here in Denmark, and of course we have to react to it,” Mads Adam, a 24-year-old political science student, told AFP. “I think today this kind of vote is even more important. In times of war, it’s obviously important to say whether you want to join this kind of community or not,” says Molly Stensgaard, a 55-year-old screenwriter. Expect a high rate of abstentionin a country used to saying “nej” (no) to referendums on Europe, the last one in 2015.
Tradition of “NOT”
“I vote yes with all my heart,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced as she cast her vote in the town of Vaerlose, where she lives, outside Copenhagen. “Although Denmark is a fantastic country, the best country in the world in my opinion, we are still a small country, too small to be alone in a very, very uncertain world,” she added.
Denmark, a member of the European Union since 1973, was one of the first countries eurosceptics by rejecting the Maastricht Treaty, in 1992, by 50.7% of the votes. To overcome the blockade, which threatened the entry into force of the founding treaty throughout the EU, the country obtained several exceptions, known as “opt outs” in European jargon, and finally said yes in a new vote the following year.
Since then, Denmark has remained outside the euro (rejected in a referendum in the year 2000) but also of the defense, justice and interior policy of the EU, rejected again in a referendum in 2015. By virtue of this last exception, the Scandinavian country, a founding member of the NATO, has not been able to participate in any EU military mission. The defense policy of the 27 has gained momentum in recent years, although many countries still reject the idea of a European army.
NATO and EU
Two weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, the Danish Prime Minister announced an agreement with the majority of the parties in Parliament to put the end of the exception to a referendum, as well as important military investments to exceed the bar of 2% of GDP requested by NATO.
Eleven parties out of 14 asked for yes, which represents more than three quarters of the seats in Parliament.
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The two far-right Eurosceptic formations, the Danish People’s Party (DF) and the New Conservatives, as well as the radical left Unity List, are campaigning for no.
With the historic candidacy of Sweden and Finland to the Atlantic alliance and the Danish referendum, the three Nordic countries could soon combine their participation in European defense and NATO.