According to the report, the state of the rule of law in Denmark has been deteriorating for years, legal certainty is declining, and violations often go unnoticed. In addition, Denmark engages in “Stasi-level” surveillance and rights violations, where politicians and the government arbitrarily – and often unlawfully – abuse their power and infringe upon fundamental rights.
The study highlights the so-called “Child Rights Act”, which provides “shockingly little legal certainty” when it comes to placing children in state care. While the EU regularly criticises Hungary and Poland for alleged breaches of the rule of law, no similar action is taken against Denmark, even though during the Covid crisis Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen introduced severe restrictions while bypassing parliamentary control.
The report concludes that illiberal measures can be observed in all three countries, yet the EU applies inconsistent standards and only criticises the Central European member states.
