Danish withdrawal from the European Union ( colloquially Dexit or Danexit, a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordshypothesis A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obse ...

that

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

might leave the European Union (EU). Leaving the EU is officially supported by just two of the political parties represented in the Danish Parliament, with less than 8% of the total seats.

Background

In June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU. Eurosceptics elsewhere in the EU were encouraged by this decision, although its consequences had yet to emerge. In 2016,

Kristian Thulesen Dahl Kristian Thulesen Dahl (born 30 July 1969) is a Danish director and former politician who served as Leader of the Danish People's Party (DPP) from 2012 to 2022. He was a Member of the Folketing (MF) from September 1994 until July 2022, first repr ...

, then leader of the

Danish People's Party The Danish People's Party ( da, Dansk Folkeparti, DPP/DF) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Denmark. It was formed in 1995 by former members of the Progress Party (FrP). The DPP lent its support to the Venstre– C ...

(DPP), said that he wanted a referendum on whether Denmark should leave the EU. In 2020,

Morten Messerschmidt Morten Messerschmidt (born 13 November 1980) is a Danish politician and current leader of the Danish People's Party. He was a elected Member of the Folketing at the 2019 Danish general election having previously served from 2005 to 2009. At the 2 ...

, leader of the DPP since 2022, said that his country might leave the European Union within the next few years due to what he believed would be "the success of Brexit".

Political positions

As of 2022, membership of the European Union has broad support across the Danish political spectrum, including from the governing Social Democratic Party and the main opposition Venstre. The

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

DPP and the

Nye Borgerlige New Right ( da, Nye Borgerlige) is a national-conservative and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Denmark, Danish political party. The party was founded in the autumn 2015 by Pernille Vermund and Peter Seier Chri ...

party support leaving the EU, with only the latter current advocating for a referendum on EU membership. Together, the two parties hold 10 of the 179 seats in the Danish parliament (as of July 2022). Although historically eurosceptic, the left-wing Unity List dropped its policy of supporting a membership referendum in 2019 as a result of the troubled

Brexit negotiations Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms for Brexit, the planned withdrawal of the UK from the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of the United ...

. It now advocates for reform of EU policies. In 2022 it removed the wish to leave the EU from their manifesto and instead describing a "perspective" to leave the EU. This was not without controversy within the party. The

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econom ...

and

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

Liberal Alliance tends to favour radically reforming and rolling back powers of the EU to protect Danish sovereignty, but individual politicians within the party and its youth branch at times but not any more endorse a complete withdrawal with some arguing that Denmark should leave the EU while maintaining single-market access.

History

Denmark has been a member of the EU since 1973 and a majority support continued Danish membership of the EU.

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

, after establishing home rule in 1979, voted to leave the European Communities in 1982 while remaining a country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark has twice voted against closer union: in 1992, the Danes voted against ratification of the

Treaty of Maastricht The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the pr ...

, but approved it after the Danish Government renegotiated its terms to secure Danish opt-outs from some of its provisions; in 2000 in another referendum, Denmark decided by a small majority not to join the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

, but since then, the

Danmarks Nationalbank Danmarks Nationalbank (in Danish often simply ''Nationalbanken'') is the central bank of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is a non-eurozone member of the European System of Central Banks ( ESCB). Since its establishment in 1818, the objective of the Na ...

has maintained a

fixed exchange rate A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another ...

between the Danish krone and the euro.

Public opinion

References

{{Withdrawal from the European Union Politics of Denmark Portmanteaus Denmark and the European Union Referendums in Denmark Withdrawal from the European Union Public policy proposals

Background

Political positions

History

Public opinion

See also

References