THE DANISH-GERMAN MINORITY MODEL State Borders in Danish-German Border Region 1864-2005 “FROM CONFRONTATION to COOPERATION” the DANISH-GERMAN MINORITY MODEL

Home , Heide Simonis, Klaus Kinkel, Southern Schleswig

THE DANISH CONSULATE GENERAL IN FLENSBURG, GERMANY

“FROM CONFRONTATION TO COOPERATION” THE DANISH-GERMAN MINORITY MODEL State borders in Danish-German Border Region 1864-2005 “FROM CONFRONTATION TO COOPERATION” THE DANISH-GERMAN MINORITY MODEL

By Consul General Henrik Becker-Christensen

The Danish Consulate General in Flensburg 2014 The cover photo shows H. C. Hansen, the Danish Prime Minister together with Konrad Adenauer, the Chancellor of The Federal Republic of Germany, in Bonn on 29 March 1955, at the signing of the declarations on the rights of the Danish and German minorities. Published by the Danish Consulate General in Flensburg.

Printed by Flensborg Avis. Lord Palmerston (1784 - 1865)

„FROM CONFRONTATION TO COOPERATION“ THE DANISH-GERMAN MINORITY MODEL

„The Flying Trunk“ Reportedly, at the middle of the 19th signed the German declaration and century the British Foreign Secre- the Prime Minister signed the Dan- tary Lord Palmerston said that only ish one. Later, they have become three persons had understood the known as the Bonn-Copenhagen Schleswig-Holstein question: the Declarations. first one had died, the second one After having signed the declara- had gone mad, and the third one, tions, several speeches were given. namely Lord Palmerston himself, In one of his speeches, H.C. had forgotten all about it. Hansen claimed that the flight to One hundred years later matters Bonn had made him think of H.C. became clearer, when H.C. Andersen´s fairytale about "the Hansen, the Danish Prime Minister, flying trunk". What the poet had only went to Bonn in 1955 in order to put imagined had now become true for the finishing touches to the negotia- the Danish statesman. "I was really tions on the rights of the Danish and sitting in a flying trunk, not in order to the German minorities. On 29 visit the daughter of the Turkish March he met Federal Chancellor sultan but in order to forge an alli- Konrad Adenauer, and in the pres- ance of understanding between our ence of the delegations of the two countries within the framework of countries, the Federal Chancellor the Atlantic powers." The last words

1 were a hint that it was the question minority was simply defined as of the admission of the Federal "those German citizens that confess Republic of Germany to NATO in the to Danish nationality", adding that autumn of ´54 that had boosted the "The confession to belonging to a Danish-German negotiations about minority may not be neither tested the rights of their respective minori- nor disputed." From now on the rule ties. was "Minderheit ist wer will" ("Those In their speeches, both states- who wish to be part of the minority men underlined that the signing of are part of it”). the Bonn-Copenhagen Declara- In 1945 the minority arrange- tions was a turning point in the rela- ment was put under pressure on tionship between Denmark and the both sides of the border. Federal Republic of Germany and The special rights of the German that these declarations would be a minority, which was introduced at turning point in the relationships the end of the 1930s and during the between minorities and majorities German occupation, were lifted in on both sides of the border. Konrad Denmark, when the Germans sur- Adenauer expressed his firm belief rendered in 1945. There were also that a more solid foundation had the judicial purge of members of the been laid concerning respecting the German minority, the confiscation of interests of both minorities. German private schools and the cancellation of teaching in German The minority question at the in municipal schools. However, the NATO meeting in Paris core of the minority arrangement was preserved and confirmed in the The mutual respect for the interests so-called Copenhagen Protocol of the national minorities was rooted about the rights of the German in the delineation of the frontier in minority in 1949. This did not, 1920. Back then, the points of refer- though, change the fact that the ence were different, but during the relationship between the minority end of the 1920s alignment of and the majority in Denmark was minority politics had developed in still tense. an important area: the recognition of This also applied for Southern "the principle of disposition” (das Schleswig, which had been greatly Gesinnungsprinzip). For example, affected by a substantial strength- this was expressed in a Prussian ening of the Danish minority. The school order, where the Danish Kiel Declaration of 1949 about the

2 rights of the Danish minority in Ger- Konrad Adenauer, the German Fed- many did not ease the tension. The eral Chancellor, had been invited to conflict peaked in 1951, when the attend the meeting. Schleswig-Holstein State Govern- In his speech, H.C. Hansen ment used its majority in the Parlia- claimed that the treatment of a ment (Landestag) in Kiel to raise the minority might become a symbol of electoral threshold to 7.5 %. This the future partnership. Here he step was overruled by the Federal referred to the fact that the German Constitutional Court of Germany in minority was represented again in Karlsruhe, after which the 5 % elec- the Danish Parliament, whereas the toral threshold applied again. Danish minority, which was be- But at that point the party of the tween four and five times bigger, did Danish minority, South Schles- not have a seat in the Parliament of wigigan Voter´s Association (Syd- Schleswig-Holstein. The members slesvigsk Vælgerforening) had of the Danish Parliament expected already lost its chance of being rep- that the principles behind the NATO resented in the Parliament of partnership would make Germany Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel. Thus, at pursue a similar liberal policy char- Parliament elections in 1954, in acterised by the understanding of spite of having gained 42,000 votes, the special problems of a national the minority lost its seat in Kiel. The minority. H.C. Hansen concluded previous year the party of the Ger- that he hoped that the Federal Gov- man minority had gained a seat in ernment in Bonn in cooperation with the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) the Parliament of Schleswig- in Copenhagen with just 9,700 Holstein in Kiel would find a solution votes. There were also other prob- to the problem. lems that made the relationship Adenauer´s response was posi- between minority and majority tive. This triggered the process that thorny. resulted in the signing of the Bonn- It was on this background that Copenhagen Declarations five Foreign Secretary H.C. Hansen months later, declarations outlining touched on conditions in Southern the future rights of the Danish and Schleswig on 22 October 1954, at a German minorities. NATO meeting in Paris. He did so in connection with the question of admitting The Federal Republic of Germany to NATO. For that reason

3 Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer receives Prime Minister H.C. Hansen on 29 March 1955, prior to the signing of the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations. The Bonn-Copenhagen Decla- Thereafter the declarations list rations the civic rights as stipulated in the constitutions of the two states, The declarations of the two govern- explicitly pointing out that these ments were carefully coordinated – rights also apply to anyone belong- they both start by declaring the ing to the Danish or German minor- intention of furthering the friendly ity. co-existence between the popula- As a consequence of these prin- tions on both sides of the Danish- ciples, it is stated that the affiliation German border and the friendly to German or Danish nationality and relationship between the two coun- culture "is free and may not be tries. The preamble also refers to tested or disputed by the authori- article 14 in the European conven- ties". Persons belonging to the two tion on human rights and to the Dan- minorities and their organisations ish and German minority declara- may not, whether orally or written, tions from 1949 (the Copenhagen be prevented from using the lan- Protocol and the Kiel Declaration). guage they prefer. In the judicial 4 system and in the public administra- subsection 5, benefiting national tion the language(s) used follow minorities would be preserved per- conventional rules. manently in future legislation. This Furthermore, the two declara- law constituted something new: it tions establish the rights of the Dan- gave national minorities the possi- ish and German minorities to culti- bility to be represented in the Fed- vate their religious, cultural and eral Parliament if they could mobi- professional connections in and lise the average amount of votes with, respectively, Denmark and required to have one candidate from Germany, and the minorities are their own regional state (in casu, the guaranteed their rights to establish state of Schleswig-Holstein) repre- their own kindergartens and sented in the Federal Parliament. schools. According to the declara- This law is still valid. tions, the access of the minorities to Furthermore, the Federal Gov- the radio should be considered – ernment pronounced that the Par- minorities should also have public liament of Schleswig-Holstein announcements published in their would introduce an exemption from own newspapers. Finally, the decla- the 5 % electoral threshold under rations promise that the minority the Electoral Law of Schleswig- aspect will be borne in mind when it Holstein aimed at the Danish minor- comes to filling political posts in the ity in the state. Thus, on 23 May municipalities (all other rules being 1955, the Parliament of Schleswig- followed) and that when allocating Holstein voted in favour of suspend- public funds, members of the minor- ing this threshold in the case of the ity will not be discriminated against Danish minority. This suspension compared with other citizens. was to take effect at the next election for the Parliament of Schleswig- The additional protocol Holstein and onwards. In the future the Danish minority would only have In an additional protocol – with the to get votes enough for one man- title "The result of the Danish- date to be represented in the Parlia- German dialogues about the rights ment (Landestag) in Kiel. of our respective minorities" – dated Furthermore, in the additional 28 March 1955, the German Fed- protocol of the Bonn-Copenhagen eral Government promised that the Declarations the German Govern- Act of 8 July 1953 on the Election of ment promised that the subsidies the Federal Parliament, section 9, given to the schools of the Danish

5 minority would again be ﬁxed at 80 schools and arrange recognised % of the average expenses needed examinations. Thus, there was a to cover pupils in the public schools basis for holding A-levels examina- in Schleswig-Holstein and that the tions at the Danish Duborg school in minority would be authorised to Flensburg in Germany and at a new establish further and higher educa- German "Gymnasium" in Aabenraa tional institutions and to hold recog- on the Danish side of the border. nised examinations. Correspond- Subsequently the two declara- ingly, the Danish Government prom- tions on the rights of the Danish and ised that the German minority would German minorities were ratiﬁed by be allowed to establish similar the Danish Parliament and the Ger-

Photo: Gertrud Termansen

6 man Federal Parliament respec- Nevertheless, the Bonn-Co- tively. penhagen Declarations do stand It is important to remember that out and enjoy a high status, the 5 % electoral threshold at fed- because not only was importance eral and state elections was an inte- attached to them internationally, grated element in the solution they also affected the everyday agreed upon in 1955. Later com- lives of people living in the border plaints were ﬁled against the extent regions and were perceived as a to which this principle was applied conﬁdence-building initiative. They and its validity was disputed – all this was dismissed by the German Photo: Flensborg Avis Federal Constitutional Court in 2005 and by the State Constitu- tional Court of Schleswig-Holstein in 2013, the latter adding to its ver- dict that the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations are "legally binding internationally".

A conﬁdence-building initia- A Danish postman with his German tive colleague in 1985 at the launching of a special stamp marking the 30th anniversary of the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations. Signing the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations marked a new chapter solved some acute problems and in the Danish-German relationship. laid the foundations for a gradual Obviously the two declarations improvement of the relationship do not stand alone. The general between minorities and majorities development in Western Europe – on both sides of the border. This and from 1989 a united Europe – the process has often been character- expansion of international co- ised with the words "from confronta- operation, the development of close tion over neighbouring to coopera- partnerships within NATO and the tion". European Union, international As time has passed, the prom- trade, tourism and much more has ises of the Bonn-Copenhagen Dec- all added to improving the Danish- larations of treating the respective German relationship, which has minorities liberally seem to be taken never been better. for granted by the public mind in

7 Germany as well as in Denmark. are still of interest and form the The international development after framework of the current Danish- 1989 has, however, demonstrated German minority policy. that the idea that the confession to This was emphasised on 29 one´s nationality and culture "is free March 2005, at Sønderborg Castle, and may not be tested or disputed where representatives of the Ger- by the authorities" is not a matter of man Federal Government, the State course everywhere in Europe. The Government of Schleswig-Holstein same goes for the other elements in and the Danish Government met to the two declarations. Therefore, celebrate the 50th anniversary of against a European background the the signing of the two minority dec- Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations larations.

In Sønderborg, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen receives Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations. Photo: Povl Klavsen

8 In a joint statement, Prime Minis- Other political initiatives con- ter Anders Fogh Rasmussen and cerning minorities Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder declared that the Bonn- The joint celebration in 2005 of the Copenhagen Declarations have 50th anniversary of the two declara- furthered and secured the peaceful tions contributed to underlining that co-existence between the minori- the minority regulations have given ties on both sides of the border and the Danish-German relationship a paved the way for the development special dimension. At that point, the of friendly and close relations Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations between Denmark and Germany. had long had the constitutional sta- They expressed their belief that tus in the area of minorities. But new these declarations may serve as an elements had been added. As the inspiration for the settlement of mutual relations improved, the minority problems in Europe and minority policies of the two countries elsewhere. Among other things, the were adapted to changes in society statement also referred to the Bonn- and also to the new challenges fac- Copenhagen Declarations as one of ing the minorities. Among other the sources of inspiration for the things this applied to authorising deﬁning of the so-called Copenha- minority schools to hold examina- gen Criteria that in turn were tions and the exemption of the 5 % required to become a member of the electoral threshold when it came to European Union. the Danish minority being repre- These statements emphasise sented in Parliament of Schleswig- that the Bonn-Copenhagen Decla- Holstein. Concerning the latter, at rations are integrated in modern the election in 1958 South Schles- minority policies in Europe. They wigian Voter´s Association (SSW, are still abreast of international the political organisation represent- minority rights, both compared with ing the Danish minority) was repre- The European Charter for Regional sented in the Schleswig-Holstein or Minority Languages from 1992 Parliament again. At the national and The Framework Convention for Danish elections in 1964, however, the Protection of National Minorities the German minority dropped out of from 1995, both ratiﬁed by Denmark the Danish Parliament, as Schles- and Germany. wegian Party (the party represent- ing the German minority) did not reach the threshold of one mandate

9 with its 9,274 votes. This resulted in daily contact with Ministries and the the Danish Government subse- Danish Parliament. quently establishing a special Con- At the same time, Prime Minister tact Committee concerning the Uwe Barschel of Schleswig-Hol- minority, counting representatives stein took steps to gradually in- of the Danish Parliament and Gov- crease the subsidies to the Danish ernment. This committee was also minority schools so that in 1985 they active in the years between 1973 matched the average expenses per and 1979 even though the German pupil in the public schools, i.e. 100 minority was represented in the % subsidies. It was also decided Danish Parliament qua their co- that in every electoral period the operation with a Danish party Schleswig-Holstein State Govern- (Centrumdemokra-terne). ment was to make a report on the In 1965 the Federal Government Danish and the German minorities. in Bonn established a similar com- The ﬁrst such report was presented mittee for the Danish minority, and discussed in the Parliament of belonging under the German Fed- Schleswig-Holstein in 1986 – a simi- eral Ministry of the Interior. The con- lar report on Frisian language and tact between the German minority culture was presented in 1987. The and the regional political powers in following reports dealt with all these Kiel was also strengthened when in three minorities – in 1996 the 1975 the Parliament of Schleswig- Romani/Sinti living in the state were Holstein established a committee added in these reports, so that from responsible for issues relating to the that year the minority policy of German minority in Denmark – the Schleswig-Holstein came to cover president of the Parliament was the all of these four groups. chairman. In 1988 a new, special position In the 1980s new steps were as "Border Region Commissioner" taken in the area of minorities. for minority issues was created – The German minority found it later the position was renamed important when, supported by the "Commissioner for Minorities". An Danish state; a German Secretariat important feature of this position is was established in Copenhagen in that the Commissioner is a direct 1983. This Copenhagen Secretariat connecting link between the Prime of the German minority, which was Minister of Schleswig-Holstein and inaugurated by the then Prime Min- the minorities. In 1988 the Parlia- ister Poul Schlüter, handles the ment of Schleswig-Holstein also set

10 The German Minister for Foreign Affairs Klaus Kinkel (left) and his Danish colleague Niels Helveg Petersen (sitting) write in "The Golden Book of Schleswig" at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations. In the background from left: Klaus Nielsky, the mayor of the city of Schleswig; Heide Simonis, the Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein; Ute Erdsiek-Rave, President of the Schleswig-Holstein Parliament; Wilhelm Klüver, the chairman of SSW, the political organisation of the Danish minority; and Hans Heinrich Hansen, the chairman of BDN (Bund Deutscher Nordschleswiger, the German minority organisation). Photo: Flensborg Avis up a special contact committee for intent: "The cultural independence questions relating to the ethnic and political commitment of national Frisians – in 2013 a similar commit- minorities and ethnic groups are tee was set up dealing with the protected by the State of Schleswig- Romani/Sinti in Schleswig-Holstein. Holstein, the municipalities and the It became quite clear that things municipal organisations. The na- were happening in minority politics tional Danish minority and the eth- when in 1990 the Statutes of nic Frisians are entitled to protection Schleswig-Holstein (“Landes- and support." satzung“) was revised and credited In 2012 the Romani/Sinti were with a status as part of the Constitu- also included in this passage. Thus, tion of Schleswig-Holstein. Here the Schleswig-Holstein was the ﬁrst wording in article 5 from 1949 that State which embedded the protec- the confession to any minority is tion of the Romani/Sinti in its free but does not relieve the person regional constitution. in question from common civic The Danish so-called Structural responsibilities, was supplemented Reform in 2007, which resulted in with the following declaration of 270 municipalities being reduced to

11 98 mostly larger entities, also in Haderslev. resulted in the Government intro- Presently, the German minority ducing a handful of new electoral is not represented in the Danish rules to facilitate the political repre- Parliament. Even though it should sentation of the German minority in be added that the Schleswigian the four municipalities in Southern Party is exempted from having to Jutland. The number of mandates collect 20,000 signatures in order to increased to 31 in all councils. If the be nominated for election. Also minority cannot make this thresh- regardless of the 2% electoral old, 25 % of the votes that a full man- threshold the party may be repre- date requires is enough to secure a sented, if it wins one mandate in the minority representative that cannot large constituency of Southern vote but enjoys all other rights, Jutland. At the latest national elec- including the right to be heard in the tions, that required about 22,000 council and the right to be repre- votes, equivalent to 0.6 % of all sented in municipal committees. If votes cast nationally. It was be- the minority gains between 10 % cause of this rule that Schleswigian and 25 % of the votes necessary for Party was represented in the Dan- a mandate, a committee must be set ish Parliament between 1920 and up with the task of dealing with ques- 1945 and from 1953 to 1964. tions relating to the German minority. In a European perspective this is Education and equal rights an important step in the area of minority politics. As mentioned previously, the The rule about such a delegate schools of the Danish minority were was used in the municipality of given equal rights in 1985 concern- Haderslev at the ﬁrst local election, ing subsidies – this was ﬁxed by law but already at the next election in 1990. However, at the end of the Schleswigian Party (the party repre- 1990s economic problems resulted senting the German minority) in a pressure on this arrangement. gained a full mandate in Haderslev. Thus, the grant for each single pupil And in 2013 the same party experi- stayed the same in absolute enced a big success in Southern amounts between 1999 and 2001 Jutland in general, winning no less (based on 1998 expenses), and the than three seats in Tønder and following years brought only minor Sønderborg respectively, two in adjustments. In 2004, though, co- Aabenraa and, as mentioned, one operation between the State Gov-

12 ernment of Schleswig-Holstein and minority eyes, the new act demon- the Danish School Association for strated that the Danish schools of South Schleswig (Dansk Skole- the minority were no longer only on forening for Sydslesvig, the Danish an equal footing with other private minority organisation co-ordinating schools, but had a special position. school work in Southern Schleswig) This not only applied to the just men- resulted in an agreement about tioned subsidy arrangement but future equal footing in this area. also to the fact that the schools of The declaration of intent was the minority had had their own sec-

Danish minority demonstration in Rendsburg in 2010 against the cancellation of the principle of equal rights in terms of subsidising pupils in minority schools. Photo: Lars Salomonsen converted into reality in the School tion and passage in the school act. Act of 2007. According to section This supported the view that in 124, the Danish School Association praxis the Danish schools in for South Schleswig would receive Schleswig-Holstein – just like the 100 % subsidies of the expenses of German schools on the northern an average public school pupil, in side of the border – serve as public effect from January 2008. Seen with schools for the minority.

13 On 26 May 2010, however, a rights in terms of ﬁnancing the change of tack took place, when the schools of the Danish and German State Government of Schleswig- minorities". It appeared that during Holstein under Prime Minister Peter the previous 15 years the grants for Harry Carstensen announced that the schools of the German minori- the subsidies would be reduced ties had been about 100 % but had from 100 % to 85 %, based on the lately fallen to 96 %. This made the expenses of an average pupil in the Danish Government change the public school system. This was an method of calculation so that from element in an extensive restructur- 2011 the German minority is ing of the budget of the entire State secured 100 % equal rights con- Government of Schleswig-Holstein, cerning pupil subsidies. South of the corresponding to an annual reduc- border the grants had been reduced tion of the subsidies of 4.7 million as mentioned above, but the State euro. This triggered many and long- Government of Schleswig-Holstein running protests from the Danish stuck to its reduction to 85 %. There- minority – there were signature after, in 2011 and 2012, the Federal petitions, several demonstrations Parliament (Bundestag), added and resolutions. annual subventions of 3.5 million This also stirred emotions in euro to the Danish schools. Denmark and resulted in the Danish After the regional elections in Government repeatedly bringing Schleswig-Holstein in 2012, where the case before both the State Gov- Prime Minister Torsten Albig formed ernment of Schleswig-Holstein and a government, the principle of the Federal Government in Berlin, equality and 100 % subsidising of emphasising the underlying princi- minority pupils was reintroduced, ple at work, namely that the hitherto taking effect in 2013. The wording of equal footing between majority and the school act that the grants are minority would cease – so would the allocated "independent of need" is acknowledgement that Danish not new but still bears great impor- schools in Schleswig-Holstein ar e tance when talking minority policies. de facto public schools for the Dan- It is also crucial that in 2013 the ish minority in the region. Schleswig-Holstein branch of the Therefore, in the autumn of 2010 CDU, the large Christian Demo- a Danish-Schleswig-Holstein task cratic Party, announced that the force was set up with the aim of "go- party again supports equal rights in ing through the question of equal this area. Thus, these principles are

14 again supported by the large major- norities actually do need special ity of the political parties in grants from Denmark and Germany Schleswig-Holstein. respectively – this also applies to In 2013 the German minority in other cultural activities. It has been Denmark raised the issue of putting like this since 1920 and is crucial minority schools on an equal footing also in the future, if the two minori- with majority public ones when it ties are to preserve their institutions. came to building investments. This For many years Denmark was resulted in the minority receiving a the major contributor to the Danish subsidy of 3 million DKK as an ele- minority and Germany to the Ger- ment in a long-term solution. man one, but lately this has As it should appear above, the changed, so that now the Danish wish for equal rights has become a state subsidises both minorities the central issue in minority politics on most. both sides of the border. Today this Previously the Danish grants to characterises governments subsi- the Danish minority in Germany dising the respective minorities. were warranted in a note in the Since most schools are small and annual ﬁnance bill, but in 2009 the need special expertises, both mi- independent auditors of the public

Prime Minister Torsten Albig on the rostrum at the celebration in the Landestag of the ﬁrst 25 years with an ofﬁcial commissioner for minorities in Schleswig-Holstein. Photo: Martina Metzger

15 Photo: Povl Klavsen applications makes decisions about grants and loans within the ﬁnancial framework of the annual budget. This committee replaced the previous "The Committee on Danish Cultural Affairs in South Schleswig" as a connecting link between the Danish minority and The Danish Parliament.

Concluding remarks

Good neighbourly relations require nursing and an active effort. The same goes for the national co- existence of majority and minorities. the Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Prime Minister H.C. Hansen laid the foundation stone of this development when signing the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations in 1955. This was what H.C. Hansen had in mind when he stated in one of accounts, prompted by the Danish his speeches: Parliament´s own auditor generals, "I am happy that all parties have pointed out that such extensive endeavoured to overcome old dif- ﬁnancial arrangements should be ferences. We all know that these are embedded in a proper bill. Against long-term efforts and that setbacks this background all members of the may occur. I do, however, cherish Danish Parliament adopted “Bill the hope that the spirit permeating about the South Schlesvig Commit- these negotiations will also leave its tee and the subsidies for the Danish mark on daily life in the border minority in South Schlesvig that lie region." within the Minister for Education´s And this was what actually hap- jurisdiction". It is The South Schles- pened. Other factors were new wig Committee (Sydslesvig- steps forward taken in the area of udvalget) that on the basis of grant minority politics and which is

16 described above, the sum of all the ple that may inspire others and pro- initiatives and efforts known under vide them with a useful knowledge. the label: the Danish-German mi- In other words, the Danish- nority model. It was the awareness German minority model is not an of the particular signiﬁcance of the "export article" but a moral example minority rules that in 1996 made demonstrating that you may be able Denmark and Germany establish to reach a long-term solution if all "European Centre for Minority parties involved show their goodwill. Issues" (ECMI) in Flensburg.

Is this a European model, then?

In a number of papers, a Danish researcher on minority issues, Prin- cipal Jørgen Kühl, assesses a handful of elements making up "the Schleswig model" and its relevance in a European context. He presents a number of criteria characteristics of the model – among others func- tional autonomy, self-identification, reciprocity, voluntariness, institu- tionalised dialogue, financial support and acceptance of the delineation of the border. Since no two minority conflicts are identical, we cannot automati- cally transfer experiences and instruments from one region to the other. Instead we shall have to pick relevant experiences and instruments. According to Kühl, the “Schleswig Model” is a positive example on how it can be possible to find workable solutions to a thorny minority problem, an exam-

17 The annual Danish meetings in South Schleswig go back before World War One, when the Danish-minded parts of the population in Southern Jutland demonstrated their national identity at open air meetings, singing and listening to speeches. After the new drawing of the border in 1920 the tradition was renewed in 1921 by the Danish minority south of the new border. The ﬁrst open air arrangement in Flensburg drowned in rain, but three indoor arrangements were all successes, starting new traditions in South Schleswig. The annual meetings are held in May or June – they last three days, comprise 40 afternoon and evening arrangements and three big outdoor events. Normally there are between 10,000 and 15,000 participants, including many guests from Denmark: representatives of the government and the political parties from The Danish Parliament give speeches and convey greetings. In the picture we see participants in Flensburg walking, true to tradition, through the city towards the meeting place. Photo: Povl Klavsen

Siegfried Matlok, head of the secretariat and editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Der Nordschleswiger" (left) and Danish Prime Minister Poul Schlüter in 1983 at the inauguration of the secretariat of the German minority in Copenhagen. Photo: Der Nordschleswiger

From the article: „In other words, the Danish-German minority model is not an "export article" but a moral example demonstrating that you may be able to reach a long-term solution if all parties involved show their goodwill”.