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European Union

Danish PM: No Need for National Referendum on EU Treaty

Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said that his country will not hold a referendum on a new European Union reform treaty, but would instead ratify the charter in parliament.

The hand of a status seen against the EU logo at the EU Council HQ in Brussels

In the EU, voting rights are an issue at macro and micro level

"It is a good treaty for Denmark and for Europe, and the government has decided its ratification will take place in parliament and not by way of referendum," Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday, Dec. 11.

He added that the treaty did not cede sovereignty to the European Union, and that therefore there was "no judicial reason to resort to a referendum."

PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen

PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen is playing it safe

Denmark's constitution stipulates that a referendum must be held if part of the country's constitution is to be transferred to an international body.

The new charter was agreed in October and is due to be signed by heads of state this week in Lisbon.

A majority in parliament supports the EU treaty, replacing the planned new constitution, which was rejected by French and Danish voters in referenda in 2005, triggering an institutional crisis.

On Monday the leading opposition party, the Social Democrats, threw their weight behind parliamentary ratification.

Last week, a Danish government review said that Denmark did not need to hold a referendum to ratify the pact as it did not transfer sovereignty from Copenhagen to Brussels.

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