Denmark
| Head of State
Prime Minister |
Queen Margrethe II (since January 1972)
Mette Frederiksen (Social Democrats, since June 2019) |
| Population | 5,806,081 (2019) |
| Size | 42,925.46 km² (26,672.64 sq. miles) |
| MEPs | 14 (joined the EU in 1973) |
| Next legislative election | 2023 |
| Presidency of the Council | July – December 2025 |
| Last meeting with Boris Johnson | None held to date |
| Brexit priorities | Traditionally, the UK and Denmark have often seen eye to eye in EU decision-making and the fact the UK is leaving the bloc, means Denmark will lose a close and powerful ally at the negotiating table.
For Denmark, it will be important to establish a level playing field and fair competition in any future trade relationship with the UK. It wants to ensure that British companies will not be able to bypass high standard environmental, labour and consumer laws, while maintaining good access to the bloc’s internal market. It will also be important for the Danish pork sector to have low tariffs on agricultural products, as the UK currently is a large export market for Danish agricultural industry. Danish officials have supported the EU’s position that the Brexit terms need to be settled first before starting the negotiations on a future trade deal. |
| What Mrs Frederiksen said on Brexit | “As Danish Prime Minister I have to say that there is much to suggest there will be no deal forthcoming. So we need to prepare more,”
“The approach from the rest of Europe should be flexible, positive and approachable, if tangible ideas are coming from the UK. Not least with current discussions over the border with Ireland,” “We must do everything we can to avoid a hard Brexit.” |
| Denmark’s priorities | The elections in June 2019 saw the centre-left party becoming the biggest group with 25.9% of the vote. The centre-right Liberals of outgoing prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen reached 23.4%, and the populist, far-right Danish People’s party (DPP), plunged to 8.7% – halving their votes compared to the last election.
Following three weeks of negotiations, the Social Democrats reached agreement with three leftist parties to form the one-party minority government. In order to achieve this deal, the Social Democrats pulled back on some controversial hardline immigration measures that were proposed during the campaign. Other priorities of this government are to increase public spending and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70% before 2030. Denmark has some EU opt-outs, including on cross-boarder policing and the euro. |
