NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Foreign relations of Denmark

Danish foreign policy is founded upon four cornerstones: the United Nations, NATO, the EU, and Nordic cooperation. Denmark also is a member of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; the World Trade Organization (WTO); the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); the Council of Europe; the Nordic Council; the Baltic Council; and the Barents Council. Denmark emphasizes its relations with developing nations and is one of the few countries to exceed the UN goal of contributing 1% of GNP to development assistance. The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... The flag of NATO NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 1949. ... The Nordic countries (Greenland not shown) The Nordic countries is a term used collectively for five countries in Northern Europe. ... Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means... The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring foreign exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ... The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization which oversees a large number of agreements defining the rules of trade between its member states (WTO, 2004a). ... The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is an international organization for security. ... The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy. ... The Palace of Europe in Strasbourg The Council of Europe is an international organisation of 46 member states in the European region. ... The Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers is a cooperation forum for the governments of the Nordic countries. ...

In the wake of the Cold War, Denmark has been active in international efforts to integrate the countries of Central and Eastern Europe into the West. It has played a leadership role in coordinating Western assistance to the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). The country is a strong supporter of international peacekeeping. Danish forces were heavily engaged in the former Yugoslavia in the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR), with IFOR, and now SFOR. For the generic term for a high-tension rivalry between countries, see cold war (war). ... Pocket badge of the UNPROFOR The United Nations Protection Force, UNPROFOR, were the primary UN peacekeeping troops in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav wars. ... The acronym IFOR may also refer to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation. ... Pocket badge of the SFOR The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. ...

Denmark has been a member of NATO since its founding in 1949, and membership in NATO remains highly popular. There were several serious confrontations between the U.S. and Denmark on security policy in the so-called "footnote era" (1982-88), when a hostile parliamentary majority forced the government to adopt specific national positions on nuclear and arms control issues. With the end of the Cold War, however, Denmark has been supportive of U.S. policy objectives in the Alliance. Denmark is not a member of the Western European Union but does hold observer status. The flag of the Western European Union Not to be confused with the European Union (EU), the Western European Union (WEU) is a partially dormant European defence and security organization, established by the Brussels treaty of 1948 and composed of those states who were members of both NATO and the...

Danes have enjoyed a reputation as "reluctant" Europeans. When they rejected ratification of the Maastricht Treaty on June 2, 1992, they put the EC's plans for the European Union on hold. In December 1992, the rest of the EC agreed to exempt Denmark from certain aspects of the European Union, including a common defense, a common currency, EU citizenship, and certain aspects of legal cooperation. The Amsterdam Treaty was approved in the referendum of May 28, 1998, but the persistent skepticism of the EU in Denmark may no longer be a purely Danish phenomenon, as other member nations seem to have lowered their ambitions for ever greater political integration. In the autumn of 2000, Danish citizens rejected membership of the Euro currency group in a referendum. The Maastricht treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993. ... Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts The Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, commonly known as the Amsterdam Treaty, was signed on... The euro (â‚¬; ISO 4217 code EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. ...

Disputes - international:

Rockall. A continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

Hans Island. An island located between Greenland and Canadian Arctic islands. Unresolved boundary disputed between Canada and Denmark (Denmark controls Greenland's foreign relations). This dispute flared up again in July 2005 following the visit of a Canadian minister to the disputed island.

North Pole. Denmark is trying to prove that the North Pole is geographically connected to Greenland. If such proof is established, Denmark will claim the North Pole.

Maritime border with Poland. Denmark and Poland have still not agreed on the location of the maritime border between the two countries. Denmark supports a border half-way between the two countries; Poland wants to be awarded an even greater share of the Baltic Sea, since Poland has a much longer coast-line than the Danish island of Bornholm.

Location of Rockall. ... Hans Island, 1st August 2003, HDMS Triton Hans Island (Greenlandic/Inuktitut: Tartupaluk, French: ÃŽle Hans, Danish: Hans Ã˜) is a small uninhabited barren knoll measuring 1. ... A North Pole is the northernmost point on any planet. ... A North Pole is the northernmost point on any planet. ... Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland (on the map of Denmark to the right, it is not shown in its true location; see the map at the bottom of the article). ...

See also