Il Nuovo Postiglione - Danes seen voting to join EU defence policy

The vote comes on the heels of neighbouring Finland and Sweden's historic applications for NATO membership, as the war in Ukraine forces countries in Europe to rethink their security policy.

Two exit polls published after polling stations closed at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) credited the "yes" side with between 66 and 69 percent of votes in the traditionally eurosceptic Scandinavian country.

Final results were expected around 11:00 pm (2100 GMT).

The defence opt-out means Copenhagen, a founding member of NATO, has not participated in EU foreign policy where defence is concerned and does not contribute troops to EU military missions.

"Everything suggests that after 30 years, Danes have today decided that we must abolish our defence opt-out and that we must work more closely with Europe", the head of the opposition Conservative Party, Soren Pape Poulsen, told cheering supporters at a rally in parliament after the exit polls were published.

"Europe is burning right now... The world has become different to say the least, and therefore we need to be fully and completely in now," he told Danish television DR.

The traditionally eurosceptic country has often said "no" to greater EU integration, most recently in 2015 when it voted against strengthening cooperation on police and security matters for fear of losing sovereignty over immigration.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had urged Danes to vote in favour of joining, as she cast her ballot in her hometown of Vaerlose, on the outskirts of Copenhagen.

"Even if Denmark is a fantastic country -- in my eyes the best country in the world -- we are still a small country, and too small to stand alone in a very, very insecure world," she said.

- Danish opt-outs -

Denmark has been an EU member since 1973, but it put the brakes on transferring more power to Brussels in 1992 when 50.7 percent of Danes rejected the Maastricht Treaty, the EU's foundation treaty.

It needed to be ratified by all member states to enter into force. In order to persuade Danes to approve the treaty, Copenhagen negotiated a series of exemptions and Danes finally approved it the following year.

Since then, Denmark has remained outside the European single currency, the euro -- which it rejected in a 2000 referendum -- as well as the bloc's common policies on justice, home affairs and defence.

Copenhagen has exercised its opt-out 235 times in 29 years, according to a tally by the Europa think tank.

Frederiksen announced the referendum just two weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and after having reached an agreement with a majority of parties in Denmark's parliament, the Folketing.

At the same time, she also announced plans to increase defence spending to two percent of gross domestic product, in line with NATO membership requirements, by 2033.

"These kinds of votes are even more important than earlier. In times of war it's obviously important to state if you feel that you want to join this type of community or not," Molly Stensgaard, a 55-year-old scriptwriter, told AFP as she voted in Copenhagen's city hall.

Nikolaj Jonsson, a 28-year-old sociology student, was however unhappy with the timing of the referendum, saying it had been called "in times of unrest to emphasise a 'yes'".

"I don't think it's fair to put this ballot right here, right now, because it pushes lots of people toward a yes who would normally be more sceptical toward the EU," he said.

- 'Ukraine the major reason'-

The director of the Europa think tank, Lykke Friis, told AFP Frederiksen's decision to hold a referendum "was a big surprise".

"Nobody thought that the government would put the defence opt-out to a national referendum," she said.

"There's no doubt that Ukraine was the major reason for calling the referendum."

Eleven of Denmark's 14 parties had urged voters to say "yes" to dropping the opt-out, representing more than three-quarters of seats in parliament.

Two far-right eurosceptic parties and a far-left party called for Danes to say "no", arguing that joint European defence would come at the expense of NATO, which has been the cornerstone of Denmark's defence since its creation in 1949.

H.Zampino--INP