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Danish industry group ‘relieved’ at news of UK cabinet’s Brexit deal support

The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) has said it is optimistic following Wednesday’s news that the British cabinet had agreed to support Theresa May’s draft Brexit agreement.

Danish industry group 'relieved' at news of UK cabinet’s Brexit deal support
British PM Theresa May made a statement on the draft Brexit deal outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday evening. Photo: Tolga AKMEN / AFP/Ritzau Scanpix

DI, a private interest organisation funded, owned and managed by 10,000 companies within the Danish manufacturing, trade and service industries, responded positively to the announcement despite the significant hurdles still faced by the deal.

“The transitional agreement provides a certain amount of clarity for businesses that have long lived with uncertainty caused by Brexit,” DI director Thomas Bustrup told Ritzau in a written comment.

“But the agreement is not secured until it has been approved by the House of Commons in London and by the EU. Until then, we must hold our breath,” Bustrup added.

The DI director’s words of caution already appeared to have been borne out by Wednesday morning, as news broke that Brexit secretary Dominic Raab had resigned, saying he cannot back May's deal. That news puts the deal’s chances of survival into further doubt.

Even if the draft agreement, which was put forward by May and eventually received the backing of British ministers in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, receives approval from the British parliament, it must also be approved by the EU parliament and the leaders of the remaining 27 EU states.

May’s agreement provides a transitional plan which will enable Danish businesses to trade with UK markets under the same conditions as today until the end of 2020. The EU and UK parliament would meanwhile work to secure a new, permanent trade agreement.

If no new agreement is reached by the end of 2020, businesses could again be faced by uncertainty as the end of that year approaches, Bustrup said.

“It’s important to bear this in mind, so we don’t think everything has now been sorted out and in good order,” he said.

Mikael Olai Milhøj, a senior analyst with Danske Bank, noted that major news on Brexit negotiations was highly significant for Danish businesses, given that the UK is one of Denmark’s largest export markets.

“That’s why it’s important for many Danish businesses to be able to continue trading relatively problem-free with the Brits in future,” Milhøj said to Ritzau.

“That would be the case if this agreement gets through,” he said.

READ ALSO: 'More holes than cheese': A recap of what Theresa May's Brexit deal means for Brits in Europe

BREXIT

Denmark and UK agree deal on voting rights for British nationals

The United Kingdom and Denmark have signed a treaty that will allow all British and Danish citizens to stand and vote in local elections in each other’s countries.

Denmark and UK agree deal on voting rights for British nationals

The agreement will mean that all UK nationals who live in Denmark will be able to vote for candidates in Denmark’s local elections and run for office themselves.

Previously Denmark had imposed a four-year minimum residence requirement for UK nationals to be able to stand and to vote in municipal and regional elections. And those British citizens who registered as resident in Denmark before “Brexit Day” (January 31st, 2020) had also been able to vote in Danish local elections – unlike in most EU countries where Brexit immediately deprived all British residents of the right to vote in local elections.

This new agreement will remove the four-year-minimum and allow all British residents in Denmark to vote.

According to Statistics Denmark figures, this means some 5,388 British citizens who moved to Denmark in the last four years (up to the third quarter of 2023) will benefit from the new treaty.

READ ALSO: How many foreigners can vote in Denmark’s local elections?

It will also apply in reverse, protecting the rights of Danes in the UK to vote and participate in British local council elections.

Britain’s break-away from the EU left both groups without voting rights in their country of residence, whereas prior to Brexit all registered residents had the right to vote as well as to stand as candidates in local elections.

Britons resident in Denmark could also take part in Denmark’s EU elections, but this also lapsed when the UK left the EU.

The deal is a reciprocal agreement which will be treated as an international treaty that has to be ratified by the British parliament. In Denmark’s parliamentary system, this is done by executive order.

The treaty was signed on Thursday at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Copenhagen by the UK’s Ambassador to Denmark, Emma Hopkins and Nikolaj Stenfalk of the Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health.

In a joint statement, Hopkins and Denmark’s ambassador to the UK, René Dinesen, said the agreement will “enhance and protect the rights to participate in local democracy of approximately 50,000 citizens who reside in each other’s countries.”

“As an important outcome of the UK-Denmark Joint Statement signed by our Foreign Ministers last year, this treaty demonstrates the close ties between our countries and underlines our shared commitment to democracy,” they added.

In a statement posted by the Danish foreign ministry on social media X, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the deal securing Danes’ voting rights in the UK “pleases me on behalf of ourselves and democracy”.

Denmark is the fifth country to sign a voting rights treaty with the UK, following treaties signed with Spain, Portugal, Poland and Luxembourg.

Citizens of EU member states resident in the UK currently still have the right to vote in UK local elections, but this will change after May this year, when EU citizens who moved to the UK after January 1st 2021 will no longer be able to vote in the elections — apart from the five countries (now including Denmark) with which the UK has bilateral treaties.

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