Through the EU's Back and Front Doors: The selective Danish and Norwegian approaches in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

This chapter examines the Danish and Norwegian positions in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) in the EU. Both countries have chosen selective approaches to safeguarding national autonomy in this policy area but have adopted different strategies to do so. As an EU member state, Denmark has formally opted out of all supranational legislation, whereas non-member Norway has opted in to large parts of the cooperation. While the two countries started from two different positions, they have come to share many of the same commitments and challenges with respect to securing their respective interests and exercising influence in Brussels. Comparing the historical processes and path dependencies, institutional arrangements, legislative adaptation and dilemmas facing the two countries in AFSJ, the chapter demonstrates the range of possibilities when it comes to engaging selectively with the EU in this important but controversial policy area. The chapter demonstrates how, in some instances, non-EU member Norway is more integrated than member state Denmark. This is largely due to decades-old decisions and events that continue to shape the political and institutional room for manoeuvre of the two Nordic states.