Copenhagen, 1 June 2022 (AFP) – A majority of Danes, almost 67%, voted in favor of joining the EU’s defense policy this Wednesday (1st) after 30 years of exception, after counting 97% of requests.
“Denmark sent an important signal tonight. To our allies in Europe and NATO, and to (President Vladimir) Putin,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told her supporters.
“We showed our unity when Putin invaded a free country and threatened stability in Europe,” he said.
European Union leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel celebrated a “historic” vote Wednesday in Denmark.
“I welcome the Danish people’s strong message of commitment to our common security,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.
“I believe Denmark and the EU will benefit from this decision,” he said.
“The Danish people made a historic choice,” said Charles Michel, President of the European Council, in turn.
“Everything suggests that after 30 years the Danes today decided to change their defensive position and “work more closely with Europe”, the conservative opposition party leader Soren Pape said after the first polls were published.
Denmark has been out of European defense policy for 30 years, and this shift is another consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The favorite of the 4.3 million Danes who were called to the election was “yes”.
The ballot boxes were opened at 08:00 local time and closed at 20:00.
“History is changing and it affects us here in Denmark and of course we have to react to that,” 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 you want to join this kind of community,” speculates, 55-year-old screenwriter Molly Stensgaard.
“I vote yes with all my heart,” said Prime Minister Frederiksen, who voted in the town of Vaerlose, where he lives on the outskirts of Copenhagen.
“Denmark is a fantastic country, even though I think it’s the best country in the world, we’re still a small country, too small to stand alone in a very, very uncertain world.”
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.
NATO and the EU
Two weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, the Danish prime minister announced an agreement with most parties in parliament to put the exception to a referendum, as well as significant military investments to exceed the NATO-requested 2% of GDP threshold.
In the Danish referendum, 11 of the 14 parties represented in parliament campaigned for yes, representing more than 75% of the seats.
Only two far-right Eurosceptic formations, the Danish People’s Party (DF) and the New Conservatives, and the radical left party Union List opposed it.
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
