Danish People's Party signals support for leaving EU
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 1 Dec, 2016 CET.
Updated: Thu 1 Dec 2016 09:57 CET
Leaders of the eurosceptic Danish People’s Party (DF) met with former UKIP leader Nigel Farage in Copenhagen on Wednesday and signalled that the party is considering formally backing a referendum to have Denmark leave the EU.
DF veteran Søren Espersen, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, said that the outcome of the ongoing Brexit process would determine whether his party throws its support behind a Danish exit from the union.
“I am tempted to see what Britain gets out of it. If they end up in a reasonable place, that’s what we should do. But we’re not there yet,” he told news agency Ritzau.
Espersen added that Denmark should fully support Britain in its exit negotiations with the EU.
“We would really like to influence those discussions so that Britain gets as good a deal as possible. The UK should not be punished for what it’s done. We should help them along the way,” he said.
Espersen and party cohort Peter Skaarup met with Farage at Christiansborg, where the former UKIP leader expressed his belief that Denmark would follow the UK out of the European Union.
“It’s a question of time before Denmark leaves the EU,” he said.
Farage said he wasn’t meeting with DF to “write a manifesto” for the party but to “discuss what we have in common”.
The former leader of Britain’s anti-EU party was in Copenhagen to speak at the News Xchange 2016 conference in Copenhagen, which has gathered media leaders from around the world to discuss the future of journalism.
Farage told the assembled audience that 2016 has been “the year of political revolution, the year of outsiders”.
“There has been the outbreak of nation state democracy. It’s a virulent disease and it is going to sweep the entire Western world, in my opinion,” he said.
Highlights of his comments can be seen here:
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DF veteran Søren Espersen, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, said that the outcome of the ongoing Brexit process would determine whether his party throws its support behind a Danish exit from the union.
“I am tempted to see what Britain gets out of it. If they end up in a reasonable place, that’s what we should do. But we’re not there yet,” he told news agency Ritzau.
Espersen added that Denmark should fully support Britain in its exit negotiations with the EU.
“We would really like to influence those discussions so that Britain gets as good a deal as possible. The UK should not be punished for what it’s done. We should help them along the way,” he said.
Espersen and party cohort Peter Skaarup met with Farage at Christiansborg, where the former UKIP leader expressed his belief that Denmark would follow the UK out of the European Union.
“It’s a question of time before Denmark leaves the EU,” he said.
Farage said he wasn’t meeting with DF to “write a manifesto” for the party but to “discuss what we have in common”.
The former leader of Britain’s anti-EU party was in Copenhagen to speak at the News Xchange 2016 conference in Copenhagen, which has gathered media leaders from around the world to discuss the future of journalism.
Farage told the assembled audience that 2016 has been “the year of political revolution, the year of outsiders”.
“There has been the outbreak of nation state democracy. It’s a virulent disease and it is going to sweep the entire Western world, in my opinion,” he said.
Highlights of his comments can be seen here:
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