Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has backed her culture minister Uffe Elbæk’s decision to travel to Denmark’s opening match against the Netherlands in Ukraine.

“We would like to avoid mixing sports and politics, so we would like the minister to be there to support the Danish national team,” Thorning-Schmidt tells Politiken.dk.

Asked why the decision has not been taken earlier than four days before the European Championships begin, Thorning-Schmidt says that Denmark and other countries have wanted to exert maximum pressure on Ukraine by taking their decision close to the championships.

“At the same time we are in the process of arranging meetings with human rights organisations and the opposition in Ukraine so that (Culture Minister) Uffe Elbæk is able to meet these representatives while he is there,” she says.

EU President Denmark has thus decided not to follow other major European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, whose leading politicians have decided to boycott the European Championships in Ukraine partly due to the treatment of the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

“I don’t think anyone in Ukraine is in doubt as to what Denmark’s view of Ukraine is. Nor is anyone in the EU in doubt. The issue here is whether Denmark is to have a government representative present to support the Danish national team, which is playing a very important match in Ukraine on Saturday,” Thorning-Schmidt says.

“I am in no doubt that going to Ukraine at the same time as delivering a clear message about our attitudes to Ukraine makes a greater difference than staying away. Nor should one forget that this is about sports. It’s about the Danish national team playing an important match and that we as a government want to support that,” the prime minister says.

Responding to criticism from leading Liberal and former minister Lykke Friis, Thorning-Schmidt says the current centre-left government is doing the same as the previous centre-right government did.

“…there was the same discussion about whether or not to go to the Olympics in China and (the government) chose to go to support Danish athletes. As such the current government’s views are the same. What has happened is that the Liberals have changed their attitudes on these types of issues, but that we are keeping to the policy laid down by the previous government,” she says.

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