Created by the treaty of Rome in 1957, the European Union now has 25 member states. Over the years and decades, it has developed a wide range of policies with an emphasis on economic measures. The member states have had to adapt themselves to this new system of governance and to the presence of the Nordic countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Finland in the Union.
After the Second World War, western Europe witnessed an unprecedented degree of institutionalization with the creation of the Council of Europe and NATO in 1949 and the EEC in 1957, thus gathering different groups of countries around different issues. Denmark was a founding member state of the two former institutions but did not integrate economically with the EEC till 1972 when it got a referendum with 63% in favor of integration.
Denmark adopted for almost a quarter of a century a unique position within the European Union because it was the only Nordic country to join the EEC in the 1970s.
In this essay, we are going to examine the economic, territorial, and cultural impact of the European Union on the Danish identity. In other words, we will look at the impact of the European Union upon the European Nordic pattern, through the example of Danish identity.
Our examination is built into three parts: the first is dedicated to the assessment of the main features of the Danish identity and culture; the second is about the stakes created by the European Union in Denmark; Ad the third part will point out the real consequences of the European integration upon Danish culture and especially her economy. Our overall argument, through this essay, is that the Nordic model, embodied here by Denmark, has been partially « resistant » to the pressures of the European Union.
[...] We can notice growth in pension benefits, early retirement provision, housing allowances, social assistance, and maternity leave. And most fundamentally, there has been a new emphasis on an ‘active line‘ in employment services through several measures which have been linked to new initiatives in education and public infrastructure. Overall, Andersen (1997) has observed that, despite the welfare state pressures of over two decades, the Danish welfare state is still a Nordic welfare state; while retrenchments have occurred, the basic principles are still in place with new emphasis on work and avoidance a long-term unemployment and of marginalization of workers, particularly young workers. [...]
[...] R. Geyer, C. Ingribritsen, and J. Moses, ‘Introduction' in R. Geyer et al. (eds.), Globalization, Europeanization and the End of Scandinavian Social Democracy?, London, Macmillan pp.1-19. Pedersen, T. (1996), ‘Denmark and the European Union', in L. Miles The European Union and the Nordic Countries, London: Routeledge, pp.81-101. Soren Z.von Dosenrode., ‘Denmark: The Testing of a Hesitant Membership', in Hanf, K and Soetendorp, B. [...]
[...] Moses, eds., Globalization, Europeanization, and the End of Scandinavian Social Democracy? London/New York: Macmillan/St. Martin's, pp.85-138. http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb60/eb 60.1 _denmark.pdf Here, it is important to point out the fact that the assessment of the impact of the European Union on its member states is not an easy task because other elements such as globalization and the end of Communism have strong links and importance in the new developments of the world economy. It is hard to isolate one explanatory factor from another in such study area and especially relating to economic changes happening in the previous decades. [...]
[...] Denmark has had to adapt herself to the integration with the European Union in protecting her identity between her north axis and her continental links. The stakes have been numerous, such as the preservation of the cultural popular basis for Danish politics and the power of ‘ordinary people' or again the defense of the welfare state against the European liberal mechanism. We can also note that traditionally, Denmark has pursued a strategy of keeping its international military (NATO), economic and cultural (Nordic) commitments separate. [...]
[...] Geyer, C. Ingribritsen, and J. Moses, ‘Introduction' in R. Geyer et al. (eds.), Globalization, Europeanization and the End of Scandinavian Social Democracy?, London, Macmillan pp.1-19. [...]
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