Embassy of Denmark in Singapore marks the 50th anniversary of the Danish official enrollment in the former EEC (the European Economic Community), now EU.
EEC was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and was the forerunner of EU. It ceased to exist 1 December 2009 with the Treaty of Lisbon entering into force and its institutions was directly absorbed by EU.
Denmark and Greenland entered EEC 1 January 1973 with Greenland exiting again 1 February 1985. The Faroe Islands was never a member of the EEC.
The Embassy highlights the ability to live and work freely in any Member State, improved worker’s rights and the possibility for young students to study abroad through the Erasmus+ Program as some of the benefits of joining the EU while stressing the Union is an essential part of the answer to many challenges today and in the future.
To accompany the celebration of the anniversary, the Embassy releases a picture from the period between 1973-75 of the Danish EU Delegation including (from right to left) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ove Guldberg, and Danish Permanent Representative to the EF, Niels Ersbøll.
Niels Ersbøll was the General Secretary of EU’s Council – in which governmental ministers from each Member State meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws while coordinate policies – between 1980-84 after which he was appointed Denmark’s representative in EU’s Group of Strategical Reflection.
Ove Guldberg was the Director of the Danish Engineering Association from 1952-65 and of the Association of Consulting Engineers from 1965-68. In 1964, he joined the Danish liberal party Venstre, where he became the Minister of Public Works from 1968-71 and the Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1973-75.