Denmark in Europe 1973-2015: Processes of Europeanization and ‘Denmarkization’

Abstract

Since becoming a member of the European Community in 1973, Denmark has conducted seven referenda on its involvement in the process of European integration. Five of the referenda have produced a ‘yes’ to accession and further integration while the remaining two have resulted in ‘noes’. The Danish approach of using referenda, of claiming opt-outs after ‘noes’ and of setting up parliamentary controls to check government policy in Brussels has been a way of checking Europeanization - in this article termed ‘denmarkization’. For a long period, the two processes of Europeanization and denmarkization have co-existed and helped to create equilibrium and legitimacy behind Danish European policy. However, this seems to have changed lately as denmarkization by centre-right and populist parties no longer appears efficient in safeguarding Danish sovereignty in the vital welfare domain. This has provoked a situation in which Europeanization and denmarkization according to the interpretation of this article are heading for collision, which will necessitate some form of reconfiguration of Danish European policy. This article investigates and discusses this dual-faced aspect of the Danish membership experience and finally raises the question of whether this experience finds parallels in other EU member states

National Parties as Multilevel Organizations in the EU. A Comparative Case Study of Flanders, Denmark and the Netherlands

“…Building on the existing literature, one could hypothesize about the role of domestic EU politicization, parliamentary scrutiny of European affairs or even the physical distance from Brussels (Berezin and Díez‐Medrano, 2008; Ladrech, 2012; Mühlböck, 2017). For instance, the strong oversight of European affairs by the Danish parliament, following decades of tense debate over European integration (Borring Olesen, 2015), could certainly be an important factor in explaining why many Danish parties are so focused on cross‐level coherence, especially when combined with the appreciation that Copenhagen's sheer distance from Brussels diminishes the effectiveness of informal linkages.…”

“…On the other hand, they differ significantly in terms of their relationship with the EU. Whereas both Flanders (as Belgium's largest sub‐national unit) and the Netherlands have been founding members of the EU, Denmark's historical relationship with European integration has been more strained (Borring Olesen, 2015). Moreover, whereas in Flanders the EU is a political non‐issue (Hoon and Pittoors, 2021), in the Netherlands it is on the rise but still downplayed by its major parties (Otjes, 2021) and in Denmark it is often a politically relevant issue, if only because its parliament actively follows up on European affairs, forcing parties to publicly take a stance on European issues (Aylott et al ., 2013).…”