Denmark is leader in aid and military response, slacker in privacy and intelligence

Denmark has been supportive of the EU’s 2014 foreign policy strategy and has played a leading role in the fields of development aid, humanitarian assistance and within climate change projects. Meanwhile, the lack of political assertiveness on European policy on privacy and intelligence gathering has prompted the "slacker" label within the ECFR Scorecard 2015.

During the past year, Denmark has led a remarkably assertive foreign and security policy by joining the anti-ISIS coalition under the auspices of the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve. With the Danish parliament’s approval of deploying seven F-16 jet fighters based in Kuwait, Denmark is now one out of only five other EU-states conducting airstrike sorties in Iraqi airspace and providing Deep Air Support for Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerge troops and Iraqi Security Forces. Denmark has also participated in an assertive manner in other international interventions, including French- and UN-led stabilisation operations in Mali.

However, due to the Danish EU opt-out towards defense cooperation in an EU framework, Denmark has not been able to participate in EU military missions, but have instead acted via bilateral means.

As Ph.D-candidate Christine Nissen has uncovered in her on-going research on the Danish opt-out policy and the European CSDP, it is generally agreed upon by Danish foreign policy makers that the opt-out is often a hindrance for the conduct of consistent national foreign policy in line with EU partners. Looking back, the ECFR Scorecard from 2013 showcased this exact trend as well. This is partly a product of the salient Danish self-perception of being a principled foreign policy actor pursuing an assertive and positive contribution to the international system by focusing on contributing as a component to international efforts in peace-keeping and peace-building.

The Danish contribution to this year’s ECFR Scorecard Project was spearheaded by Ph.D-candidate Christine Nissen and student assistant Hetav Rojan with the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS).

DIIS, The Danish Foreign Policy Society, The European Council on Foreign Relations and International Debat have arranged a presentation of the European Foreign Policy Scorecard and a debate on where European Foreign policy is heading.

The presentation will take place 9 March from 4PM to 5.30 PM at Auditorium 35.01.44 at the Centre for Health and Society, entrance via Gammeltoftsgade 13, 1167 København K.

Speakers:

• Sussi Dennison, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations:The ECFR scorecard: In what direction is Europe headed?
• Christine Nissen, researcher at DIIS:Denmark in the world. Danish foreign policy in times of trouble.
• Fabrizio Tassinari, Senior Reseracher and Head of Unit for Foreign Policy, DIIS:Myths and reality of Europe’s single phone number

Moderator will be Lykke Friis, Prorector at the University of Copenhagen and Chairman of the Danish Foreign Policy Society.