The process has two parts. A governmental part and a part related to the Danish Parliament’s European Committee. It calls for close collaboration between different branches of the administration in Denmark. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the overall coordinating role.
The laying down of the Government’s position has three levels.
The aim is to conclude most cases at the level of the special committees. A special committee is composed of the ministries, departments and in many cases interest groups, which normally operate within the committee’s area of responsibility. The chairman is normally a civil servant from the ministry responsible for that particular field.
Because of its coordinating role vis-à-vis EU questions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is represented in all special committees. The special committees identify the content and scope of EU proposals and suggest Danish positions concerning specific proposals as well as preparation for Council meetings.
The EU Committee deals in particular with EU questions that have horizontal, fundamental or sensitive aspects. The Committee also deals with questions that cannot be solved in the special committees. The EU Committee meets when needed on Tuesdays in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds the chairmanship and secretariat.
The ministries which are most deeply involved in EU matters are permanent members of the Committee. Other ministries participate on an ad-hoc basis. The EU Committee prepares the discussions in the Government’s Foreign Policy Committee.
On a political level the Government’s Foreign Policy Committee lays down the Government’s position in EU matters. The Chairman is the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In addition to the permanent members all other ministers are normally invited to the meetings. The Committee meets when needed on Thursdays.
There is a special procedure with regard to the preparation of meetings in the European Council. These meetings are prepared by a group of state secretaries headed by the Prime Minister’s Office and are discussed in the Government’s Committee for the European Council and the future of the EU.
The Government is obliged to consult with the Parliament’s European Committee in EU matters of essential importance. It further follows from the first report from the Committee in 1973 that “Prior to negotiations in the EC Council of Ministers on decisions of a wider scope, the Government submits an oral mandate for Negotiation to the Market Committee. If there is no majority against the mandate, the Government negotiates on this basis”. All political parties in the Parliament are represented in the European Committee in proportion to their number of parliamentary seats. The Committee meetings normally take place on Fridays and deal with all the Council meetings taking place in the following week.
