The Danes and the Maastricht treaty: The Danish EC referendum of June 1992

Abstract

The Danes feared loss of sovereignty and did not want any closer political integration. A great majority of Danes favour continued membership of the European Community but are against all kinds of political union. Fear of the economic consequences, if the referendum was rejected, was made clear by politicians and business representatives, nevertheless a small majority of the population preferred political freedom to economic benefits. And the government was faced with the problem how to compromise between the attitudes of the population and the expectations from the rest of the EC. A national compromise among the parties in the Danish Parliament reached at the end of October 1992 was by and large accepted at the Edinburgh summit, but the question whether the Danish public will accept it still remains.