Like other European nations, Denmark is supporting Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion. It is imposing sanctions, and many companies have stopped Russian operations and trade. It has sent humanitarian and military aid. It is increasing military spending (DK) to 2 percent of GDP, in accordance with NATO policy (albeit slowly—by 2033). It has assented to NATO’s request that it send troops to Latvia. It has agreed to accept 100,000 refugees, a huge increase from the normal level.

Royal Life Guards. Photo by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash

None of these moves has been very controversial. They are backed up by almost all the parliamentary parties and the public. But the Social Democratic administration has also scheduled a referendum on the country’s opt-out from the European Union’s defense program, and this is more problematic. Denmark has rejected four areas of EU collaboration: defense, justice, the euro, and EU citizenship. Danish sentiment for EU membership was conditional upon maintaining this measure of independence.

What defense collaboration?

The opt-out means that Denmark doesn’t participate in EU defense operations and related aspects of EU foreign policy and security policy. But there has never been an EU army. Any decision on a joint military operation requires unanimous approval, and the individual nations can decide whether to send troops. The opt-out hasn’t received much attention since the Edinburgh Agreement in 1993, and the referendum is controversial for a few reasons.

It is of course opposed by factions that have been against EU membership all along. It also appears to be a hasty reaction to a particular event—Russia’s aggression—rather than a thorough consideration of Denmark’s role in the EU in general. And there is also much uncertainty about what European defense collaboration would entail in concrete terms.

Can Europe count on NATO?

Since World War II, Europe’s defense has been provided by NATO and the United States. Denmark was a founding member of NATO and a loyal follower of US-led military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. The EU’s collective military does not seem to offer anything beyond NATO’s capabilities. But when Trump trash-talked NATO, some European leaders spoke of Europe’s needing to end its military dependence on the US. Biden has reasserted the US commitment to European security, and NATO has revived since the attack on Ukraine. But there’s no guarantee after the 2024 American election.

The initial opinion poll (DK) on the referendum showed 38 percent in favor of ending the opt-out, 23 percent opposed, and 32 percent undecided. A large majority of Parliament supports it. But the opposition within the administration’s own governing coalition has objected to the formulation of the referendum question (DK), which reads “Do you vote yes or no on whether Denmark can participate in European collaboration on security and defense?”

Voter manipulation

Peter Hvelplund, chair of the Red-Green Party’s parliamentary group, says the phrasing is misleading and “direct cheating.” He prefers that the issue is formulated thus: “Do you want to abandon the defense opt-out?” The new leader of the Danish People’s Party, Morten Messerschmidt, is also convinced that the formulation was intended to frame the issue to favor passage.

The utopian solution

This dissent was no surprise since the platform of the Red-Green Party, whose members still include some diehards from the old DKP (Danmarks Kommunistiske Parti), calls for Denmark to withdraw from NATO (DK) and disband the military. The steering committee’s re-affirmation of this position as recently as March 6 made it difficult for the party chair, Mai Willadsen, to persuade the media (DK) that the party didn’t really want to leave NATO just yet but rather only when conditions in the world make the desertion more practical.

In early February, during the Russian build-up on the Ukrainian border, the administration announced that it was opening discussions on allowing US troops and military equipment to be stationed in Denmark, as they are in several other NATO countries. The Red-Green Party and the Socialist People’s Party, on whose support the administration also depends, oppose this development (DK) as well. If this bickering is all too predictable, you can watch Danish politicians contending with nothing less than the US, Russia, and China all at once by tuning in to the new season of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s dramatic series Borgen.