Denmark eyeing joint Brexit strategy with the Netherlands and Ireland

Lars Løkke Rasmussen meeting up with Mark Rutte and Enda Kenny on Friday

Apr 19, 2017

The prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, is due to meet with his counterparts from Ireland and the Netherlands at the end of this week in a bid to prepare Denmark for the forthcoming Brexit negotiations.

The three countries are among the EU states expecting to be the most damaged by the UK’s exodus from the EU.

This Friday, Rasmussen will meet with Dutch PM Mark Rutte and the Irish head of government, Enda Kenny, in The Hague in an effort to develop a joint strategy ahead of the EU summit regarding Brexit later this month.

“Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland have many mutual interests in the EU,” said Rasmussen.

“Not least regarding Brexit, which will have consequences for us and the UK. So it makes sense to discuss in union how to protect out interests and divorce as smoothly as possible so that the EU and the UK can continue to have a close relationship in the future.”

27 agendas
Later on this month, the remaining 27 EU member states will congregate for a meeting at which they must agree on a mutual strategy regarding the Brexit negotiations. The EU and the UK can only formally begin entering into new trade agreements once the split has been completed – which is expected to take place in 2019.

Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland all have close trade relationships with the UK. Some 53,000 Danish jobs are reportedly dependent on exports to the country.

The UK is Denmark’s fourth largest export market and around 2,400 Danish companies export their goods and services there.