May 14, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Denmark would like their country to use the common European currency, according to a poll by Greens Analyseinstitut published in Borsen. 54 per cent of respondents would vote in favour of adopting the euro in a referendum, while 42 per cent are against the idea.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Denmark would like their country to use the common European currency, according to a poll by Greens Analyseinstitut published in Borsen. 54 per cent of respondents would vote in favour of adopting the euro in a referendum, while 42 per cent are against the idea.

Support for adopting the euro dropped by one point since April, while backing for keeping the krone increased by four points.

In May 1993, Denmark adopted the European Union (EU) 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. 43 per cent of respondents would be in favour of abolishing all of these exemptions in a wide-ranging referendum, while 39 per cent would keep them in place.

Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of the Left, Liberal Party of Denmark (V) has said he wants to put the four EU exemptions to a nationwide vote in 2009. Danish voters rejected the euro in a September 2000 plebiscite.

Denmark’s 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.

On May 9, Rasmussen said his government will set the date for a referendum on scrapping Denmark’s exemptions within the next two months, and declared: "Denmark has to become a full-fledged member of the eurozone."

Polling Data

How would you vote if a referendum on whether Denmark should adopt the euro took place today?

	May 2008	Apr. 2008
Yes to the euro	54%	55%
No to the euro	42%	38%
Not sure	4%	7%

In May 1993, Denmark adopted the European Union (EU) 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. If a single referendum were held on whether to abolish or retain the four exemptions, how would you vote?

To abolish the exemptions	43%
To retain the exemptions	39%
Not sure	18%

Source: Greens Analyseinstitut / Borsen
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,009 Dane adults, conducted from May 5 to May 7, 2008. No margin of error was provided.