Abstract
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.
