Prime Minister’s speech on the European Constitution and the Danish Kingdom

The Prime Minister Jóannes Eidesgaard held a speech on the European Constitution and the Danish Kingdom at Christiansborg, Copenhagen, on the 29th of April 2004

Prime Minister’s speech on the European Constitution and the Danish Kingdom,
Christiansborg, Copenhagen, 29 April 2004

Europe is the region of change. No other region of the world has generated so many great thinkers through the ages and no other region has had so great an influence on other regions of the world as Europe, ideologically, politically and culturally. This is why many see Europe today as the cradle of modern civilisation.

Europe is also the region of tragedy. It is in Europe where the largest and most devastating wars have been fought which have resulted in mass destruction and the death of countless millions of innocent people.

Against the backdrop of European tragedy, Winston Churchill proposed the establishment of the United States of Europe in Zurich on the 19th of September 1946.

Looking back today we can see that these ideas were developed by the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, Germany’s Konrad Adenauer and Italy’s Alcide De Gasperi, who proved to be the great architects behind what later became the European Union. These men saw the need to promote a new European era in which European unity, in peace and with mutual respect for differences, was put firmly on the agenda in a new and voluntary union of European countries.

This union, which over time has developed into the European Union we know today, is once again on the threshold of change with the proposal for a common constitution as its foundation. The Kingdom of Denmark is a part of the EU through the membership of Denmark, while the Faroes and Greenland are outside.

It is in connection with these constitutional developments that the problematic questions arise regarding the extent to which a constitution for Europe will affect the Kingdom of Denmark as we know it, comprised of Denmark, the Faroes and Greenland.

Let me stress that the remarks I offer here this evening are my own personal views.

The draft of the European constitution prepared by the European convention states that the constitution will be in force for the Kingdom of Denmark. It also states that the constitution will not apply to the Faroes. As I understand these provisions, the European constitution will be in force for the Faroes, but with the stipulation that it will not be applied to the Faroes. In other words, the European constitution will in one way be in force passively for the Faroes.

The relations between the Faroes and Denmark are regulated by the Faroese Home Rule Act. Work is underway at the moment to prepare legislation concerning the transfer of further powers under this act. In general this will allow for the transfer of authority for all areas, with the exception of certain areas which, from the Danish point of view, are seen to be integrally linked to the integrity of the Danish state in relation to other states. These areas include foreign, security and defence policy, as well as citizenship and currency and monetary policy.

In addition, legislation is also being prepared dealing with the foreign policy competence of the Faroes in relation to foreign states and international organisations, in particular with respect to areas transferred to the Faroes.

When all remaining potential transfers of power within the Kingdom have been exhausted, the only remaining areas linked to the integrity of the Danish state in relation to other states will still be regulated from Copenhagen.

The fundamental issue still to be resolved in relation to the European constitution and the Kingdom of Denmark is the extent to which those areas defined as the belonging to the integrity of the state in relation to other states will still be regulated from Copenhagen in the future. There are already indications that the European process of integration within the framework of the European constitution will result in some level of “federal” regulation from Brussels in the foreseeable future.
Another important matter of principle, albeit somewhat hypothetical, is to what extent formal Danish competence regarding possible Faroese independence according to paragraph 19 of the Danish constitution at a later stage is also transferred to the authority of the European Union.

A third and equally relevant issue is the extent to which areas of competence which are not considered possible to transfer to Faroese authority due to the integrity of the Danish state, will nevertheless be possible to transfer to the authority of the EU, also with respect to the Faroes.

In other words, can the politically and legally absurd situation arise, whereby the Danish constitution is, on the one hand, interpreted by the legal experts as a barrier to the transfer of powers to Faroese authorities, while, on the other hand, the same legal experts interpret it as the very legal basis for transferring the same powers to the EU authorities, also with respect to the Faroes.

I know that these developments are already well underway, with the “eurofication” of the Faroese króna as one example.

So far I have tried to identify the political and legal issues in relation to the European constitution and the Kingdom of Denmark.

The main question I must ask as a Faroese politician responsible to the Faroese people is – to what extent will these developments have consequences for the future of the Faroes.

Based on these considerations, the Kingdom of Denmark can be seen to be facing one of several future scenarios.

1.     One scenario could be a ”status quo scenario” in which the Faroes gain full autonomy within the framework of the Danish Kingdom in accordance with the Home Rule Act, as well as legislation on the transfer of powers and legislation on Faroese foreign policy competence. Those areas which today are linked to the integrity of the Danish state in relation to other states will wholly or partly be under the authority of the EU, and this situation will be approved by Faroese authorities.

2.     A second scenario could be a ”secession scenario”. It could be foreseen that, due to Europe’s new constitution and the developments this brings with it, Copenhagen no longer has the competence to exert authority in the Faroes in key areas, the Faroes decide to take the ultimate consequence of this situation through a referendum to secede from Denmark.

3.     A third scenario could be a ”pragmatic legal scenario” in which Danish legal authorities take the consequence of the fact that the Faroes have gained full autonomy within the framework of the Kingdom in accordance with the Home Rule Act, the legislation on the transfer of powers and the legislation on Faroese foreign policy competence, while also taking the consequence of the fact that Europe’s new constitution has become a political and legal reality. In other words, as the Danish constitutional fundament has been shaken, the time will have come to redefine the Kingdom and reinterpret the Danish constitution.

In such a process of redefinition and reinterpretation it should be possible to come up with a whole new agreement between the Faroes and Denmark as a supplement to the Home Rule Act, as well as the legislation on the transfer of powers and Faroese foreign policy competence, which also introduces a whole new principle of interpretation into Danish constitutional law. This could take the form of an arrangement whereby all areas which Denmark transfers to the authority of the EU can similarly be transferred to the Faroes, if the Faroes so decide.

With these scenarios I have attempted to describe in a simple way the possible situations that can arise for the Kingdom in connection with the EU’s new constitution and the subsequent process of European integration. One angle in the matter which I haven’t touched upon is the question of what will happen with the Kingdom if the Faroes decide in the future that the EU constitution should apply to the Faroes.

I would like to conclude by underlining once again that the perspectives I have raised in this presentation on the draft EU constitution in relation to the Kingdom of Denmark are my own tentative assessments of the future situation. The EU and the Kingdom of Denmark have taught us that it is difficult to predict the future of these two unions. The only thing of which I am certain is that in our old region of Europe, history will continue at its own separate pace as it has always done, both in the EU and in the Kingdom of Denmark.

Jóannes Eidesgaard, Prime Minister of the Faroes