{"id":22789,"date":"2022-06-01T17:57:56","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T17:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=22789"},"modified":"2022-06-01T17:57:56","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T17:57:56","slug":"denmark-votes-on-joining-eus-common-defence-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2022\/06\/01\/denmark-votes-on-joining-eus-common-defence-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Denmark votes on joining EU\u2019s common defence policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Denmark is voting on whether to join the EU\u2019s common defence policy, potentially becoming the last of the bloc\u2019s members to sign up as Russia\u2019s invasion of\u00a0Ukraine\u00a0continues to reshape Europe\u2019s security landscape.<\/p>\n

The referendum on Wednesday, in which voters are thought likely to back the government\u2019s proposal, follows\u00a0historic applications\u00a0by Denmark\u2019s previously non-aligned Nordic neighbours, Finland and Sweden, to join Nato last month.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Denmark, historically critical of the EU, secured exemptions from joining both the bloc\u2019s security and defence policy and the euro in a 1993 referendum, but the country\u2019s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said it was time to change tack.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately we are looking forward to a time that will be even more unstable than what we are experiencing now,\u201d Frederiksen said after casting her vote. \u201cI believe it is the right thing for\u00a0Europe, the right thing for Denmark, the right thing for our future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frederiksen called the referendum barely two weeks after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine after reaching an agreement with a majority of parties in the Danish parliament, also pledging to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP, in line with Nato membership requirements, by 2033.<\/p>\n

\u201cNato will of course remain our most important tool, but the EU gives us another in securing our defence in the east,\u201d the ruling Social Democrats defence spokesman, Mogens Jensen, said. Eleven of Denmark\u2019s 14 parties, representing more than three-quarters of seats in parliament, have urged voters to drop the opt-out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is changing, and not in a good way. We need to stand together and strengthen the cooperation that strengthens our security,\u201d said Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, head of the opposition Liberal Party.<\/p>\n

Despite polls consistently showing a \u201cyes\u201d vote was more likely, with about 40% support against 30% for \u201cno\u201d and 20% undecided, analysts have been wary of making firm predictions of the referendum\u2019s outcome, with low voter turnout expected to play a role in a country that has often rejected further EU integration.<\/p>\n

Participation in the EU\u2019s defence policy would allow Denmark, a founding Nato member, to take part in joint EU military operations, such as those in Somalia, Mali and Bosnia, and Danish officials to stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defence issues.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

It would be seen largely as a symbolic win in Brussels, experts said. \u201cThe political significance will outweigh the military contribution,\u201d said Kristian Soby Kristensen, a senior researcher at Copenhagen university\u2019s Centre for military studies.<\/p>\n

Those opposed to abandoning the opt-out argue that the EU\u2019s defence cooperation is hampered by excessive bureaucracy and inefficient decision making, and that a joint European defence would come at the expense of Nato. Polls opened at 8am local time and a result is expected after 11pm on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denmark is voting on whether to join the EU\u2019s common defence policy, potentially becoming the last of the bloc\u2019s members to sign up as Russia\u2019s invasion of\u00a0Ukraine\u00a0continues to reshape Europe\u2019s security landscape. The referendum on Wednesday, in which voters are thought likely to back the government\u2019s proposal, follows\u00a0historic applications\u00a0by Denmark\u2019s previously non-aligned Nordic neighbours, Finland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":22790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[11611,11288,1904,4024,6576,5347,159,2419,6621,9505,5335,3577,1237,2264,12773,5252,11743,5317,5572,4802,1198,3174,7400,3457,5655,1361,1378,5180,214,6348,3954,36],"class_list":["post-22789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-applications","tag-bosnia","tag-brussels","tag-common","tag-democrats","tag-denmark","tag-eu","tag-euro","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-finland","tag-future","tag-gdp","tag-government","tag-increase","tag-invasion","tag-majority","tag-mali","tag-military","tag-nato","tag-parliament","tag-prime-minister","tag-referendum","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-somalia","tag-sweden","tag-ukraine","tag-university","tag-us","tag-will","tag-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}