Denmark in the EU Justice and Home Affairs and Defense Projects: Opportunities and Limitations

The European Union is a complex differentiated system, which includes permanent and temporary exceptions. The existence of permanent treaty-based exceptions for member states is usually linked to the Eurosceptic views of a significant part of the society. However, having achieved exemptions from the EU's common rules and projects, such states largely lose the opportunity to influence on decision-making in the future. With deepening integration and the growth of supranational legislation, the costs of having exceptions increase. The article considers the case of Denmark and its attempts to balance between having opt-outs and wanting to be opt-in in the areas of Justice and Home Affairs and defence. It is concluded that in order to minimize the damage caused by non-participation in these projects, Danish politicians have taken a pragmatic approach, adopting to varying degrees and forms the norms and practices of the European Union. However, in areas that are sensitive to public opinion and national sovereignty, such as migration, Denmark takes an independent line, joining only those projects that are in line with its policy.