Denmark to Hold Referendum on EU's Justice and Home Affairs

The Danish government agreed on Tuesday on the elements of the EU's Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) agenda, which will be submitted to a forthcoming referendum.

Denmark is likely to move from a complete opt-out on all JHA matters to a partial opt-in approach, EurActiv reports.

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt had initially included 50 legal acts as part of the parliamentary negotiations.

At the end the parties agreed on 22 issues, which will be subjected to a referendum, which should take place by April 2016.

Among these acts are the cross-border Legal Aid Directive, the Cyber Crime Directive, the Directive on combating abuse and sexual exploitation of children and the Directive on trafficking of human beings.

The arrangements Denmark seeks to achieve would be similar to those currently in place for the UK and Ireland.

Thorning-Schmidt had continuously insisted on Denmark lifting the opt-out on JHA as the country might be forced to leave Europol.

Denmark has also opt-outs on the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), Defence and Citizenship of the EU.

In December 2014, most of the parties represented in the Danish Parliament agreed on holding a referendum on the matter before the second quarter of 2016.

Following the shootings in Copenhagen in February, proposals for new measures to prevent terrorist attacks have been discussed on a regular basis in the parliament.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!