Denmark, war removes certainty about exemptions in the European Union. History of a country jealous of its independence

there Denmarkcloser toEuropean Union. To prove it there Historical Yes in the poll in the field of defense cooperation Held a few days ago. Voters have actually decided to cancelWithdraw set between Copenhagen And the Brussels On the occasion of the ratification of Maastricht Treaty On the defense cooperation of the community and now the European coordination will be able to count on one more member. This is a decisive change of pace for a country, he remembers NorthHe always weighed the pros and cons of integration, and chose to participate only when he saw fit.

The decision to join European Economic CommunityFor example, it was motivated by a desire to integrate into the single market rather than an appreciation of the federal project. Denmark has benefited from some EU withdrawals since 1993: fromeuro In the European Security and Defense PolicyPassing through justiceAnd the internal affairs And the Citizenship from the union.

The origins of the non-participation go back to the 1992 referendum rejecting the Maastricht Treaty, which had already been approved by a large majority by the Folking. Denmark was unable to sign the treaty in its original form but the other member states refused to make changes, thus Copenhagen was able to exempt it from applying those unwelcome parts to the citizens. TRUE “national settlement” It was accepted by the European Council of Edinburgh in December 1992. Several Danish governments have considered holding referendums to cancel some withdrawals, but things did not go well. In 2015, 53% of voters opposed the easing of the withdrawal in the area of ​​justice, which had to go from total to partial to allow Denmark to continue to be part of theEuropolDespite the positive opinion expressed by the government and its heavy political weight such as Democratic Socialist Party. Fifteen years ago, withdrawal from the euro was required by the most important political parties such as free them Which conservativesCome on trade unions It is opposed by only four small movements. result? No won with 53% of the vote and 87.6% of the voting rights holders.

Some themes, such as those ofimmigrationDenmark and the European Union were divided, causing a series of misunderstandings between the two sides. In June 2021, the Danish Parliament approved a law allowing applications for asylum and international humanitarian protection to be processed in a non-European country. A few weeks ago Copenhagen decided that Return of Syrian refugees In their country, which is now considered “safe”. there European Commission The law identified the law “incompatible with existing EU rules and with the proposed new migration compact”, which is “based on Asylum as a fundamental right of the European Union.” Copenhagen, on this occasion, has shown little tact over a file of crucial importance to the European Union.

In recent years, something has changed in Denmark, which has always been very close to it United State And spread in the Atlantic sites. This change is related to the presidency Donald Trump Which here as elsewhere has caused grave damage to his reputation Washington. Survey conducted in January 2021 by Voxmeter (Reported by European Council on Foreign Relations) explained that 66% of Danes believe that Europe cannot always rely on the United States but should care about its own defense capabilities. Only 10% are convinced that the United States will protect Europe, while 22% of the youngest (the highest percentage of all age groups) believe that in 10 years the European Union can become stronger than the United States.