Copenhagen, Denmark, June 1, 2022 (AFP) – Danes began voting Wednesday in a referendum (1) that will determine whether the country will join the defense policy of the European Union, after which it has been on the sidelines for 30 years. The result of the war in Ukraine on the security map of the continent.
“Yes” is the favorite of the 4.3 million Danes who went to the polls with more than 65 percent intent to vote, in the latest poll released on Sunday.
Electoral colleges opened at 8:00 am (3:00 GMT) and will close at 20:00 (15:00 GMT). Results will be announced in the evening.
In Copenhagen, the first Danes began to vote in the early hours.
“History is changing and it affects us in Denmark and we need to react,” 24-year-old political science student Mads Adam told AFP.
“I think these kinds of votes are even more important today. In times of war, it’s clearly important to say whether we want to join this kind of community,” said 55-year-old screenwriter Molly Stensgaard.
A high rate of abstention is expected in a country that voted “nej” (no) to the European referendums, the last of which was held in 2015.
“I believe with all my heart that we should vote yes. We have to be more united with our neighbors, as we will have to fight for Europe’s security,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in the latest televised debate. Sunday night.
Denmark, a member of the community bloc since 1972, gave the first shot of Euroscepticism by rejecting the Maastricht agreement by 50.7% in 1992, something never seen at the time.
To end this blockade, which threatens to put the entire European Union’s founding treaty into effect, Denmark received a series of secession clauses, known in European parlance as “deactivation”, and finally voted “yes” in a new vote this year. following.
Since then, Denmark has stayed out of the eurozone after the 2000 referendum, but also out of European home affairs and justice policy (which was also rejected in the 2015 referendum) and defence.
Due to this last exception, the Scandinavian country and founding member of NATO did not participate in any EU military missions.
The defense policy of the once marginal 27 has gained prominence in recent years, but the idea of a European army still tickles many countries.
In the Danish referendum, 11 of the 14 parties represented in parliament campaigned for yes, representing more than 75% of the seats.
Only two Eurosceptic far-right formations and a radical left party were against it.
One of the main arguments of the “no” camp is that the emergence of a European defense would be to the detriment of NATO, which has been the cornerstone of Danish security since its founding in 1949.
With the historic candidacy of Sweden and Finland to NATO and the Danish referendum, the three Scandinavian countries will soon be able to join the European defense policy and transatlantic alliance.
source: Noticias
