A Danish flag flutters in the wind | Getty explainer Denmark’s EU ties put to the test Amid the arcana, a rise in voter discontent with politicians shapes the Thursday referendum.

COPENHAGEN — The Danes are one of the most pro-EU peoples in Europe, but at the same time among the most skeptical when it comes to further European integration. On Thursday, they will vote in yet another referendum on their relationship with Europe, their seventh since Denmark joined the European Union in 1972.

Here is a primer on what the Danes are up to.

What is the referendum about?

It depends on whom you ask.

Technically, the Danes will vote on whether one of the four opt-outs — negotiated after the Maastricht treaty was rejected in a previous referendum in 1992 — should be converted to an opt-in. It’s the opt-out regarding justice and home affairs, but it’s so complicated that you'd need a university degree in EU law to understand the details. In the event of a Yes vote, Denmark will adopt 22 EU laws and then parliament will decide whether to adopt other laws on a case-by-case basis. (The U.K. and Ireland have voted for similar arrangements.)

The parties in favor of a Yes vote say the referendum is mainly about Denmark’s membership of Europol, which they say is crucial for the country’s ability to fight crime, pedophilia and terrorism across borders. If the Danes vote No, say the Yes parties, it’s an open question whether, and how quickly, the government will be able to negotiate a deal with Brussels that makes it possible to stay in Europol.

The No side has a different take. They insist that Denmark can, one way or another, find a way to stay in Europol. For them, the referendum is about transferring more power to Brussels. It’s also about transferring power from the voters to parliament.

The No-sayers also stress the loss of sovereignty in case of a Yes vote. Parliament will get the exclusive right to decide on a matter of constitutional importance — transferring sovereignty to the EU — by a simple majority in parliament, instead of a supermajority, i.e. a five-sixths majority, or through a referendum. This is a democratic problem, insists the No side — not least because, historically, there has always been more support in parliament for the EU than among Danish voters at large. On the current question, almost two-thirds of Danish MPs support a Yes vote, while the voters are divided more or less 50-50.

What are the issues?

Apart from the questions of loss of sovereignty and the need for more effective cross-border police cooperation, the key issue is not on the ballot: That is whether Denmark at some point will join the EU’s common migration and asylum policy.

In case of a Yes vote, parliament will be granted the right to decide on this matter by a simple majority. But the issue is a highly sensitive one: A vast majority of Danes are against, and this majority is growing in light of the current chaos unfolding on Europe’s southern and southeastern borders. Besides, Denmark shares borders with Germany and Sweden, the two countries receiving most asylum-seekers. Because of this sensitivity, the government and the Yes parties have promised to put this question to voters in another referendum, if the need arises.

The voters don’t seem to trust them, though. In a recent poll, 54 percent of the population agreed that a Yes vote will lead to Denmark joining the EU’s common migration and asylum policy. Only 13 percent disagrees with that view. That’s bad news for the government and the other Yes parties.

Another issue is an EU law that requires the Danish police to investigate crimes that aren’t criminal offenses in Denmark, where Holocaust denial isn't criminalized and the definition of so-called hate speech is narrower than in many EU countries.

Who’s saying what?

Though there are six Yes parties (spanning the political spectrum, from left to right) and three No parties (also representing left and right), the main opposing characters are Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen on the Yes side and the chairman of the Danish People’s Party (DPP), Kristian Thulesen Dahl, on the No side.

This is odd because the DPP vote with the government on many issues. The government has been surprised that Thulesen Dahl has questioned the credibility of the government and the prime minister, who has recently been involved in an expenses scandal. This is a major issue among voters because trust in politicians has never been lower.

On the other hand, the prime minister is making the case that it's in Denmark’s best interests to have more effective cross-border cooperation in Europe on law enforcement, while the DPP plays on the widening gap between politicians and voters. The No parties also make references to past referenda, when politicians predicted disaster if Denmark didn’t join the EU on one issue or the other, warning of doom that never materialized. That was the case with the vote on joining the euro in 2000, and even today most Danes, even those who voted Yes at the time, will say that it was good that the voters didn’t trust the government back then.

During the campaign, very little has been said about the big picture and the future of Europe. The opposing parties have waged scare campaigns and the debate has been reduced to two questions: the credibility of the politicians and whether the Danish police would be better at catching criminals in case of a Yes win.

Who will win?

Most polls indicate a very close race: around 40 percent will vote Yes and 40 percent No, with the rest undecided. Right now it looks as if the No side has momentum. The Yes parties were ahead in the polls until about a week ago.

What would it mean for Europe?

Not much, which can be measured by the foreign media’s lack of interest. Not even the British press, which usually looks for Euroskeptic trends, has covered the referendum with any gusto so far. A No vote would be further evidence of the widening gap between Brussels and the people of Europe.

What next?

In case of a Yes vote, Denmark will join those parts of the justice system of the EU that parliament decides to, apart from the common migrant and refugee policy. In case of a No vote, the Danish government will have 18 months to negotiate a deal with the EU to stay in Europol — a deal it is likely to pursue.

Flemming Rose is the foreign editor of Jyllands-Posten and an author. His new book, “Hymn to Freedom” (Jyllands-Posten Publishing, 2015), has just been published in Denmark.

This article was updated to correct to seven the number of EU-related referendums Denmark has held since its accession.

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