Brussels, 04/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - When consulted on the possibility of lifting the clause ('opt-out') which allows their country not to take part in European justice and home affairs policies, the Danes voted on Thursday 3 December for the status quo.
This decision could have a direct impact on the country's involvement in the police cooperation agency, in which Denmark has been participating for 16 years.
The Danes expressed their refusal in reasonably clear terms. The no decision, which was defended by the extreme Left and the Eurosceptic Danish People's Party, won 53% of the votes after 98% of the votes had being counted. Turnout has been estimated at 70%.
“This is a clear 'no' (…). I fully respect the decisions of the Danish people”, said the Danish prime minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, at a press conference.
“We take note” of this vote, the European Commission responded on Friday 4 December. The President of the European institution, Jean-Claude Juncker, spoke on the telephone with Rasmussen on Thursday evening and the two men will meet in Brussels towards the end of next week, to discuss the consequences of the vote on Danish participation in Europol.
The former Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, proposed in late 2014 to lift the opt-out on justice and home affairs matters granted to the country in 1992 during negotiations on the Maastricht Treaty. Her government was concerned about continuing Danish participation in Europol, which was felt to be even more important after the attacks in Copenhagen in February 2015.
Since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, however, Denmark (plus the United Kingdom and Ireland) have had the opportunity to opt, on a case-by-case basis, for certain initiatives and it was on this facility (applied to 22 texts) that the Danes were consulted on Thursday 3 December. The country, which is no longer bound by the European legislation on police and criminal cooperation which entered into force following the Lisbon Treaty, may find itself on the sidelines in the fight against terrorism and organised crime, particularly as regards Europol. The new rules reinforcing the agency Europol, adopted at the end of 2015, cannot apply to Denmark as things stand (see EUROPE 11443).
In order to continue its involvement, the country would have to conclude a parallel agreement with the European Union, which could feed into the coming talks between Juncker and Rasmussen.
In addition to justice and home affairs, the opt-out clause negotiated by Denmark also covers the euro, defence policy and citizenship. Of the 50 European legislative acts which fall within the scope of the opt-out for justice and home affairs, the Danish government had hoped to be able to participate in 22 initiatives, including the directives on cross-border legal assistance, cyber-crime, fighting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and trafficking in human beings. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)