(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Denmark are still doubtful about the potential effects of adopting the common European currency, according to a poll by the Ramboell Institute published in Jyllands Posten. 45.2 per cent of respondents would support maintaining the current opt-out on joining the euro, while 43.6 reject this position and would like to join the currency.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Denmark are still doubtful about the potential effects of adopting the common European currency, according to a poll by the Ramboell Institute published in Jyllands Posten. 45.2 per cent of respondents would support maintaining the current opt-out on joining the euro, while 43.6 reject this position and would like to join the currency.
The euro has been used in 12 EU countries since January 2002. At the time, Denmark, Britain and Sweden were the only EU members that did not adopt the currency. The European Central Bank has set a fiscal deficit limit of 3.0 per cent to allow other member nations to adopt the euro. Slovenia began using the currency in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, and Slovakia in 2009.
In May 1993, Denmark adopted the EU’s Maastricht Treaty with four exemptions: the adoption of a single European currency, joint defence, judiciary cooperation—which allows Denmark to have its own immigration and asylum policy—and European citizenship.
The Danish krone is practically pegged to the euro. The Danish Central Bank allows the national currency to fluctuate by 2.25 per cent from a set rate against the euro.
Danish voters rejected the euro in a September 2000 plebiscite. Anders Fogh Rasmussen of the Left, Liberal Party of Denmark (V)—who served as prime minister from November 2001 to April 2009—proposed putting the four EU exemptions to a nationwide vote this year.
On May 13, current Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the referendum on adopting the euro and the other opt-outs should take place no later than 2011, adding, "We also need strong parliamentary support for the vote, and we don’t have that right now."
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose maintaining Denmark’s opt-out on joining the euro?
|
Support |
45.2% |
|
Oppose |
43.6% |
|
No opinion |
11.1% |
Source: Ramboell Institute / Jyllands Posten
Methodology: Interviews with 906 Dane adults, conducted from May 4 to May 6, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
