(Bloomberg) -- Denmark should negotiate similar concessions to the ones that the U.K. might obtain from the European Union in case of a successful Brexit deal, Danish People's Party leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl said Wednesday.
The DPP is Denmark's second-largest party. It isn't part of the center-right government of Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, but provides it with the votes it needs to secure a majority in parliament.
“There are plenty of opportunities for Denmark to run more things on its own,” Dahl told reporters after delivering a party meeting in the southern Danish town of Sonderborg. One option would be a looser relationship with the EU, one that “mirrors what the British get.”
The leader of the euroskeptic and anti-immigration party also called on Rasmussen and the rest of the EU to be more accommodating toward Britain during their exit negotiations, noting that Denmark would be one of the countries to suffer the most in case of a no-deal.
Dahl would like Danes to be able to vote in a referendum on eventual British concessions without having to go through the process of actually leaving the EU.
Denmark has held various referenda on EU matters so far, voting in favor of EU membership in 1972 and against the euro in 2000. It has also obtained various British-style opt-outs.
An EU survey in May found that 76 percent of Danes want to stay in the EU, up 9 percent from the previous Eurobarometer.
To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Levring in Copenhagen at plevring1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo
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