Supporters had six months to complete the Proposal "Free access to nautical chart data" ("Gratis adgang til søkortdata") online on the corresponding page of the Danish parliament. 50,000 signatures would have been needed for the Folketing to deal with the issue. However, the initiative received very little response: By the deadline on Tuesday, just 1,280 signatures had been collected.
"Safety and equality at sea" as justification
The anonymous initiator from Aalborg justified his citizens' proposal ("Borgerforslag") by arguing, among other things, that nautical charts are expensive and therefore not equally accessible to everyone, but at the same time "essential for safety at sea". After all, land-related data is also freely accessible in Denmark.
It was also pointed out that the two maritime Scandinavian neighbours Norway and Sweden had already implemented similar initiatives.
Other reasons given were that high costs would also deter people interested in boating and that free information could therefore boost nautical tourism as well as the water sports industry. For example, because harbours could provide precise information on approaches and water depths anytime and anywhere to attract guests.
Citizens' proposal not a binding instrument
The citizens' proposal is a common instrument of direct democracy in Denmark. As the name suggests, however, it is not binding for politicians. However, if it had found the necessary 50,000 supporters, it would have been submitted as a resolution to the parliamentary process in Copenhagen, processed there and then voted on in the Folketing, although the outcome would at least have been open. This possibility no longer exists.
