Britain faced further isolation within the European Union yesterday after Denmark announced that it was giving its citizens the chance to vote in a referendum on its relationship with Europe.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the country’s recently re-elected Prime Minister, announced plans to give Danes a say in joining the euro and ending Denmark’s opt-outs from Brussels.

He said that staying outside the single currency and retaining opt-outs on defence, justice and home affairs were damaging his country’s relationship with the EU. The referendum question could also include the new EU treaty, to be signed by heads of government next month.

The news that the Danes are to be offered a referendum on closer integration with the EU caused difficulties for the British Government and the Conservatives last night. A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office would say only that it was “a matter for the Danes” while the Tories gave a notably defensive response.

Mark Francois, the shadow Europe minister, said: “We believe in a flexible Europe where each country can find the level of integration with which it feels comfortable. If the Danish Government wish to discard some of their opt-outs that is a matter for Danish people and Parliament to decide.”

It was left to Eurosceptic Tory backbenchers to draw the comparison between the Danish leader’s decision and that of Gordon Brown. Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, said: “It’s good to see that at least one incoming leader has the courage to put his country’s relation with the EU to the people. It’s a shame our own Prime Minister is refusing to honour the promise he made to do the same.”

Britain and Sweden will be the only countries that joined the EU before 2004 not to have adopted the euro if voters endorse Mr Rasmussen’s plan. Britain and Ireland would be the only countries to retain opt-outs on justice and home affairs policy.

The referendum would be the sixth time that the country has held a popular vote on an EU issue since Denmark joined in 1973. Although Britain joined the same year, the British Government has held only one referendum, in 1975.

Mr Rasmussen said yesterday: “The time is approaching. It is the Government’s view that the people in this parliamentary term should have the opportunity to take a stance on the Danish EU opt-outs. We have always said that the Danish exemptions are a hindrance for Denmark. It is the right time to take a decision.”

The announcement of a referendum, like Mr Rasmussen’s decision to call a snap election this autumn, was seen as a bold move, given Denmark’s tradition of voting against the EU project.

In 1992 the Danes shocked Europe by rejecting the Maastricht treaty, the document that paved the way for the euro. They approved it a year later with various opt-outs.

In 2000 they voted by 51.3 per cent to 46.9 per cent against replacing the krone with the euro. Recent opinion polls have shown that a narrow majority of Danes now favour switching to the single currency.

Yesterday Mr Rasmussen, whose right-wing coalition narrowly won elections last week, would say only that the euro referendum would be held some time during the Government’s four-year term.

He is to take legal advice on whether the new EU reform treaty changes Denmark’s constitutional relationship with the EU before deciding whether or not to hold a referendum on the document, which replaces the failed EU constitution.

Polls consistently show the Danes not far behind British levels of Euroscepticism. But years of sharing a border with a country in the eurozone — Germany — have gradually worn away resistance to the single currency.

According to a poll published last month, 51 per cent of almost 1,000 Danes surveyed said they were in favour of getting rid of the exemption on the euro, while 40 per cent said they were opposed to the move.

The poll also indicated that a majority of Danes were in favour of lifting the exemptions on joint defence and judiciary co-operation, but that 73 per cent wanted to maintain the exemption on European citizenship.

Simple economies of scale among a country of just 5.5 million mean that the allure of the euro, with its consistently low interest rates, has become greater. Although Denmark is not in the eurozone, it meets the membership criteria and Danish monetary policy closely shadows that of the European Central Bank.

The Danish opt-outs were negotiated before Mr Rasmussen first came to power in 2001. He has always been pro-EU but only after his third election success has he found the confidence to challenge the opt-outs, which were a device to persuade a nervous population to back the Maastricht treaty.

Mr Brown has promised a referendum in Britain before any decision to join the euro, while the Swedish people voted to hold on to their currency in a popular vote in 2003.

Taking no for an answer

1973: Ten years after Charles de Gaulle vetoed British membership of the EEC, Denmark, the Irish Republic, Britain and Norway sign an accession treaty. Norwegian voters reject entry, but Britain, Denmark and the Irish vote for membership in referendums

1993: The Maastricht Treaty, which broadens the European Union mandate, is only accepted by Denmark after a referendum in which the country is given an opt-out on monetary union. The French pass the treaty by a hair’s breadth. Britain has no referendum

2003: 56 per cent of Swedes vote to reject the single currency

2005: Plans for a European constitution are scuppered when France and the Netherlands reject it in referendums. A referendum in Britain is cancelled

Source: Times archive

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