Denmark to hold referendum on scrapping EU defence opt-out

Yes vote would end 30-year stance on Europe's common defence

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, centre, says Denmark will hold a referendum on its EU defence opt-out on June 1. EPA

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Danish Prime Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said “historical times call for historical decisions” as she announced a referendum on whether to join the EU’s defence pact.

Ms Frederiksen called on citizens to overturn the country's 30-year-old opt-out from the bloc’s common security and defence policies.

The referendum will take place on June 1 and is part of an agreement reached with a majority of parties in Denmark's parliament.

Unnerved by Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, Ms Frederiksen told a news conference in Copenhagen on Sunday that President Vladimir Putin “has heralded a new time, a new reality. Ukraine’s struggle is not just Ukraine’s. We stand together in Europe”.

“It is now that everyone in the western world must make up their minds,” Ms Frederiksen said when she was asked why such drastic a change in Denmark’s security policies, with regard to the EU, was necessary right now.

“Ukraine is the difference. A free, democratic country is under attack from Russia,” she said.

Ms Frederiksen said parties represented in her government all support the referendum and its related measures.

Denmark would also boost military spending to meet the Nato target of 2 per cent of gross domestic product by 2033, she said.

The Social Democrat leader also expressed a wish to make Denmark “independent of Russian gas as soon as possible”, but did not specify a time frame.

“We will also work towards this in the rest of Europe,” she said.

The potential turnaround comes as other European nations also overturned long-held positions on defence and security after Mr Putin's shock offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

Public support for Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance reached historically high levels since the start of the assault. This week, the two governments announced that they were forging closer ties with Nato and with each other on defence.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made an about-turn on decades of defence policy by announcing a €100bn ($109.3bn) military spending increase and sending weapons to Ukraine.

Denmark has certain historical opt-outs from the EU’s common policies. Those include reservations related to the EU’s common defence, single currency — the euro, which it doesn’t use — and judicial co-operation.

The defence reservation means Denmark does not attend EU meetings when military operations are discussed under the bloc’s auspices. Denmark’s defence reservation has existed since 1992 when most Danes voted against the Maastricht Treaty that established the present day EU.

Denmark joined the European Communities, the predecessor of the EU, in 1973. It is one of the founding members of Nato, which was established in 1949.