Denmark - Foreign policy

Fogh's vision for Danish foreign policy is not drastically different from the traditional foreign policy pursued by Denmark for many years. The Liberal Party is firmly engaged in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and is a vocal supporter of the enlargement of both. Denmark is one of three countries in the EU that opted out of the currency harmonization scheme and so, along with Sweden and the United Kingdom, it has not adopted the euro , though it may join at some point in the future. Denmark has also opted not to join any EU-funded defense force. Fogh's government believes it is not in the best interests of Denmark to be nonparticipants in these areas but respects the Danish rejection by referendum. The Liberal Party officially would like Denmark to join the "eurozone" by adopting the euro as the country's currency, and also supports Danish participation in a common EU defense policy and the EU military force. This will only happen if Danish voters elect to do so by referendum. Denmark, as one of the smaller countries within the EU, has fought recent moves within the body to provide the larger countries with a greater voice in EU decision-making as expansion continues.

As a member of NATO, Denmark was an immediate supporter of the U.S. War on Terror following the attacks on the United States in September 2001. Denmark contributed troops to the multinational peacekeeping force led by the United Kingdom in Afghanistan. Three Danish soldiers were killed in March 2002 as they tried to defuse an unexploded bomb. Fogh has also lined up behind the U.S. president George W. Bush on the issue of Iraq. He is convinced that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, and that he is prepared to use them. Fogh also wants to revise parts of a defense agreement with the United States and Greenland first reached in 1951.