Special edition Last Week in Denmark
The Internationals Guide to the European Parliament Elections
Welcome to a special edition of Last Week in Denmark. As we announced last week, we will focus on the European Parliament elections for the June 1st and 9th editions.
Who can vote for the European Parliament?
European Union citizens over 18 years old.
Who can vote for candidates from Denmark for the European Parliament?
Any European Union citizen with an address in Denmark who has registered before the deadline to vote for a candidate from Denmark.
If you have voted before in Denmark, you have most likely been automatically added to the voter register. Check your eBoks for an email from Indenrigs- og Sundhedsministeriet (Minister of Health and Interior) titled “Du kan stemme til EU-valget” which is bilingual Danish/English and should contain the phrase “You have previously applied to vote in the Danish elections, so you do not need to do anything if you want to vote in Denmark.”
What happens if you didn’t register to vote for a candidate from Denmark, nor added automatically to the voter register?
You can still vote for candidates from your home state. Check with your embassy to see where you can vote in Denmark.
Where and when can you vote?
You should receive a letter with a voting card in your mailbox that specifies in which voting section you can vote. This applies only if you have registered to vote for a candidate from Denmark.
It is possible that the municipality forgets and, due to an error, never sends you a voting card. Don’t get discouraged. Go to the nearest polling station and ask to vote. If you cannot vote there, they will direct you to the right place.
You can vote on Sunday, June 9th, from early morning (09) until late evening (20).
What do you vote for?
Every five years, we vote to decide the members of the European Parliament. There are 720 members of the European Parliament that represent 450 million Europeans. From Denmark, we send 15 members to the European Parliament.
Remember! You can either put an X next to a specific candidate or next to a political party. In Denmark, you can vote personally for a specific candidate from a party list. That means if a party gets, for example, two seats in Parliament, the first two most-voted people on the list get the seats.
What percentage of the votes does a political party need to obtain one seat?
There is no minimum percentage to obtain a seat. However, because there are only 15 seats, a political party needs roughly 6.7% to secure one.
Can you vote for a candidate from another region of Denmark?
Yes. Unlike the local, regional, and national elections, for the European Parliament elections, Denmark is treated as a single constituency, which means you can vote for the same people from every corner of Denmark.
What is the European Parliament?
The European Parliament is the world’s only directly elected transnational assembly. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent the interests of EU citizens at the European level.
Together with representatives of the governments of EU countries, MEPs shape and decide on new laws that influence all aspects of life across the European Union, from supporting the economy and the fight against poverty, to climate change and security.
MEPs put important political, economic, and social topics in the spotlight and uphold the values of the European Union: respect for human rights, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law.
Parliament approves the EU budget and scrutinizes how the money is spent. It also elects the President of the European Commission, appoints its Commissioners and holds them to account.
Who can you vote for?
As a non-Danish EU citizen living in Denmark, your main interest is for Denmark to continue being part of the European Union project so that your residence status here is not affected. Luckily, only one political party (DF) out of the 11 running wants Denmark to exit the European Union. Even then, they only see a potential referendum sometime in the next 20 years.
The main topics discussed by Danish politicians are: climate change, environment and biodiversity, food and energy independence from other parts of the world, production of military equipment cooperation, support for Ukraine, migration from outside the European Union, and border control between Denmark and Germany.
As mentioned earlier, there are 11 political parties on the voting ballot, each with a list of 10 to 20 candidates. So there are plenty of options to choose from. You have to decide what is the most important issue for you and then check out the candidates of that party. Go out on the city square and you will definitely meet one of them to have a direct discussion. The more English-speakers reach out to candidates, the more the parties will be encouraged to campaign in English.
The parties are listed in order of how pro-European they are, from the most to the least.
Radikale Venstre (Social Liberals) - part of Renew Europe (European Liberals)
Known for several decades as the most pro-European party in Denmark, they are today being challenged by Moderaterne for that title. As the party of the intellectual elites, many European civil servants with Danish backgrounds have their roots in Radikale Venstre. One of them is the most famous and influential Danish commissioner, Margrethe Vestager.
The party is going through a generational change, reflected by the young faces on the pink posters around the city. With 5.6% support in the latest opinion poll, the party needs a bit more to secure a mandate. However, there is optimism in the party. Usually, they do better than in other elections because pro-Europeans show up to vote for them. Last time, they got 10.1% and two mandates.
Expectations: 1 mandate
Top candidates: Sigrid Friis Frederiksen (energy policy consultant), Anne Sophie Callesen (former Member of Parliament) and Philip Tarning-Andersen (meteorologist)
Listen to our #VOTEHOME podcast episode with Sigrid Friis Frederiksen (in English).
Top priorities:
Green transition (climate neutral by 2040, 65% reduction of CO2 emissions in 2030, a unified electrical union, independent from Russian gas and oil)
Less agriculture, more nature (end direct subsidies to farmers and replace with grants for green transition)
Less discrimination (freedom to be yourself anywhere in Europe)
Relation to the European Union: The party wants a stronger European Union as climate, migration and security crises can only be solved on a European level.
Moderaterne (Social Liberals) - part of Renew Europe (European Liberals)
After they took away the center position between left (red) and right (blue) in Denmark from Radikale Venstre, now they are going after the title of the most pro-European party in Denmark. Part of the same family with a roughly similar ideology, they are fighting for almost the same electorate, so it should be interesting to see who the pro-Europeans will back.
They present very brave messages on the campaign trail. Ideas like another referendum in Denmark about adopting the euro and joining the cooperation on police and migration on the European level. The latest opinion poll shows them at 7.4%, enough to secure one mandate.
Expectations: 1 mandate
Top candidates: Stine Bosse (world-renowned business woman), Bergur Løkke Rasmussen (member of the European Parliament), Barikan Solecki
Listen to our #VOTEHOME podcast with Stine Bosse (in English)
Top priorities:
Freedom and peace in Europe (stronger military cooperation on the European level, common acquisition and production of military equipment, unlimited support for Ukraine)
End the climate crisis together (they want the EU to live up to the already ambitious climate goals, CO2 quotas on food production and better support system for green industry)
Solve the migration crisis (secure the EU’s external borders, create common centers for asylum seekers, and make agreements with African countries to send illegal migrants to the continent)
Relation to the European Union: The party wants a stronger European Union on areas such as climate, military/defense and migration. They also believe that the Union has become too bureaucratic and they want to simplify certain procedures.
Alternativet (Greens) - part of the European Greens / European Free Alliance
You can always expect an interesting campaign from the Greens in Denmark. Just look out for the “JAN” posters around the city and notice just how many variations you can identify. As seems to be the fate of this party, they have to work extra hard during every election round to even dream of getting a mandate. With 2.4% in the latest opinion poll, only a strong showing of young people that care about climate change or cannabis legalization can secure them their first-ever mandate in the European Parliament.
Expectations: 1 mandate
Top candidates: Jan Kristoffersen (jurist), Karoline Lindgaard (state administration student), Petar Socevic (jurist and former leader of the party - Denmark for Alle)
Listen to our #VOTEHOME podcast with Jan Kristoffersen (in English)
Top priorities:
Green agriculture (end subsidies to large industrial-level farmers and replace it with better support for small ecological farms, CO2 quota system for agriculture)
More wild nature (the EU should live up to the Nature Regeneration Pact)
Better animal welfare (introduce rights for animals, switch from industrial farming to free range farming)
Relation to the European Union: The party wants a stronger European Union on areas such as climate, environment and nature regeneration.
SF (Socialists) - part of the European Greens / European Free Alliance
Currently the third most popular political party in Denmark (13%), the expectations are very high in the socialist camp. The first EU elections without Margrethe Auken in a very long time will be a true test for the young leaders of the party. Just like Radikale Venstre, there is a generational change at SF, which is now the party of young families with children.
Expectations: 2 mandates
Top candidates: Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Member of the European Parliament), Rasmus Nordqvist (former member of the Parliament), Villy Søvndal (former party leader and minister of foreign affairs)
Listen to our #VOTEHOME podcast with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (in English)
Top priorities:
A greener Europe (65% reduction of CO2 emissions in 2030, reform of agriculture subsidies so that farmers can transition to a greener way of farming, more green energy, more and faster train connections and higher taxes on flying)
A rich nature and clean drinking water (stronger EU legislation on biodiversity and wild nature areas, both on land and water, invest in cleaning up the drinking water sources)
Ban dangerous chemicals (end the use of chemicals that affect our health and hormones, end the use of PFAS and pesticides like RoundUp)
Relation to the European Union: The party wants a stronger European Union on areas such as climate, environment and dangerous chemicals, while they don’t want European involvement on social areas like minimum salary.
Venstre (Liberals) - part of Renew Europe (European Liberals)
In the last round of EU elections (2019), Venstre was concerned with whether they would get three or four mandates. This time, the question is about securing at least one mandate. The party with the most votes in Denmark last time is struggling at 7.6% today, which should be enough for a mandate.
Although they are part of the European Liberals together with Radikale Venstre and Moderaterne, they are the most conservative and least pro-European among the three. For example, they support stricter border control between Germany and Denmark.
Expectations: 1 mandate
Top candidates: Morten Løkkegaard (Member of the European Parliament), Asger Christensen (Member of the European Parliament), Ulla Tørnæs (former minister)
Listen to our #VOTEHOME podcast with Jonas Pullich (in English)
Top priorities:
Europe should be able to defend itself (Stronger defense and security cooperation on the European level)
Stronger external borders (Refugee centers outside of Europe, stronger external borders to prevent illegal migration, end the crossing of the Mediterranean Sea by migrants)
Green energy and independence from Russian gas (simplify administration procedures to put the green transition on turbo mode)
Relation to the European Union: The party wants a stronger European Union on areas of common interest such as defense, security and migration, while they want less European involvement on social areas such as minimum salary.
Enhedslisten (Red Green Alliance) - part of Left (European Socialists)
There has been a paradigm shift at Enhedslisten. Known as the party on the left that is against the European Union, with many of its members part of the Movement Against European Union, the party has decided to no longer advocate an exit from NATO and the EU.
With this new, more pro-European stance, their support has also increased. The last opinion poll shows them at 8.3%, which should be more than enough for one mandate.
Expectations: 1 mandate
Top candidates: Per Clausen (former member of the Parliament and current local politician in Aalborg), Frederikke Hellemann (political advisor on EU policy), Nana Hojlund (local union leader in Randers)
Top priorities:
Faster train connections with night options between the large European cities (climate-friendlier travel in Europe, reduced prices on InterRail tickets and increased taxes on flying),
More equality (end tax evasion, economic criminality and economic speculation on crises)
Recognize Palestine (EU should stop Israel’s attack on the population of Gaza)
Relation to the European Union: The party wants a stronger European Union on areas such as climate and environment, while being critical of the too unambitious legislation in various fields.
Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats) - part of the Progressive Union (European Social Democrats)
The second-most popular party in the previous EU elections (2019) stands to get the most votes this round (20%) and secure at least three mandates. Despite being part of the Progressives Union, one of the most pro-European gatherings of MEPs, they are not the most pro-European in Denmark – far from it, in fact.
Expectations: 3 mandates
Top candidates: Christel Schaldemose (member of the European Parliament), Niels Fuglsang (member of the European Parliament), Marianne Vind (member of the European Parliament)
Top priorities:
Security (common acquisition and production of military equipment at the European level)
Migration (stronger external borders and refugee centers outside of the European Union)
Toxic-free environment (ban PFAS and dangerous chemicals that impact health and alter hormones)
Relation to the European Union: The party wants a stronger European Union on areas such as climate, environment, defense/military and migration, while wanting less European involvement on social areas such as minimum salary.
Konservative (Conservatives) - part of European People’s Party (EPP)
Still recovering from the disastrous parliamentary elections, Konservative are on a mission to secure the one mandate they traditionally get in the European Parliament. The latest opinion poll puts them at 5.4%, which is a bit short from what they need.
Expectations: 1 mandate
Top candidates: Niels Flemming Hansen (member of Danish Parliament), Marcus Knuth (former member of Danish Parliament), Birgitte Bergmann (former member of the Danish Parliament and local politician)
Listen to our #VOTEHOME podcast with Nicklas Verne (in English)
Top priorities:
Defense and security (Stronger common cooperation in acquisition and production of military equipment; unlimited support for Ukraine)
Stronger external borders (End crossing of the Mediterranean Sea by migrants; Refugee centers outside of the European Union)
Climate and environment (green transition should be a good business for Denmark; energy independence from Russia)
Relation to the European Union: The party considers the European Union to be strong enough on areas of common cooperation such as climate, environment, defense and migration. At the same time, they want less European involvement in social areas such as parental leave and workers rights.
Liberal Alliance (Liberal Conservatives) - part of European People’s Party (EPP)
A very popular party in Denmark, especially on TikTok (15.2% in the latest TikTok opinion poll), they are ready to secure mandates in the European Parliament for the first time. With ideas like the introduction of a European CO2 tax and European Refugee Centers in Africa, they want European solutions to transnational problems. However, at the same time, they don’t want the Union to decide on areas like maternity leave (in fact, they will fight against the directive that gives fathers paternity leave).
Expectations: 2 mandates
Top candidates: Henrik Dahl (member of the Danish Parliament), Mads Strange (political advisor), Thorbjorn Jacobsen (engineer)
Top priorities:
A more competitive internal market (which makes it easier for small and medium companies to export to other countries)
Danish labor market (end European involvement on social areas such as parental leave and workers rights)
Stronger external borders and security (refugee centers outside of the European Union, common acquisition and production of military equipment)
Relation to the European union: The party wants a stronger European Union in areas such as climate, environment, security, migration and economy, while they want less European involvement in social and educational areas.
Danmarksdemokraterne (Nationalist Populists) - part of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)
The new party of farmers has a strong focus on agriculture. They want the European Union to produce all the food we need locally and to stop the climate change hysteria.
They want the European Union to build a wall on the Eastern border and to introduce a stronger overwatch of the Southern maritime borders. They find mass immigration to be the most important issue, and they want to focus on that if elected in the European Parliament.
First, they would like to make deals with all the North African countries so that migrants arriving by boat can be returned. They hope that fewer people will pay to cross the sea if they don’t get what they paid for. Second, they want significant investments in the African economy, so that fewer people will want to leave for a better life.
Expectations: 1 mandate
Top candidates: Kristoffer Storm (local politician from Aalborg), Vivi Altenburg (public employee from Varde), Magnus Bigum (young metal worker)
Top priorities:
More power back for Denmark (less European involvement in social areas such as maternity leave)
External borders (build a wall on the EU’s external borders)
Self-sustaining Europe (independence from Russia and China on energy, military equipment and food)
Relation to the European Union: The party would like the European Union to focus on economy, security and defense while reducing its involvement in social areas.
Dansk Folkeparti (Nationalist Conservatives) - part of Identity and Democracy (European Nationalists)
The only party in Denmark that wants to exit from the European Union. They would like a Switzerland or Norway-model of cooperation between Denmark and the EU. This means picking and choosing which EU laws to introduce while having no influence whatsoever over their design.
While they want an exit from the European Union, they would still like trade and police cooperation on a European level. Their biggest concern is mass immigration and they want to be elected in the European Parliament to act as a watchdog and representative for people who want less of the European Union.
Expectations: 1 mandate
Top candidates: Anders Vistisen (member of the European Parliament), Majbritt Birkholm (party vice president), Tobias Weische (political advisor)
Top priorities:
Migration policy (there shouldn’t be a common solution to the migration crisis, Denmark shouldn’t accept refugees and criminal internationals should be deported)
Expansion of the European Union (There shouldn’t be an expansion of the Union)
Border control (permanent border control between Denmark and Germany and exit from the Schengen agreement)
Relation to the European Union: The party would like Denmark to eventually exit the European Union.
There you have it! A rundown of the upcoming election and your voting options. Next week, we'll look at the highlights from the campaign trail, how the situation looks on an European level and also discuss the European parties (mentioned next to each Danish political party) and their role.
Thank you for sharing this guide with your friends and acquaintances!
What is radical venstre's position for European support to Ukraine?