The Danish people voted this week against adopting the euro. With nearly 90 percent of eligible voters going to the polls, Denmark rejected the European Union's single currency by a narrow 53-47 margin. The result is a bitter disappointment for the country's political and business establishment, which had campaigned hard for joining the currency. But the Danes are well-known Euroskeptics, and this week they lived up to their reputation. The euro will survive, the European project will go forward -- more slowly, yes, as other skeptics will now feel vindicated and emboldened. But it will go forward, nonetheless.

Unlike many other EU members, Danes have repeatedly had the chance to express their opinion about union. Denmark has gone to the polls six times to vote on EU matters. In a June 1992 referendum, a razor-thin majority -- 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent -- kept the country from ratifying the Maastricht Treaty, the agreement that formally created the European Union. Less than a year later, Danes returned to the polls to vote on a renegotiated treaty that contained special exemptions designed to protect Danish sovereignty. That time, they voted in favor of ratification by a 15-point margin.

This history suggests that Denmark's leaders are unlikely to take no for an answer. There is already speculation they will propose another referendum if the euro recovers from its current slump: It has lost 30 percent of its value since it was launched with great fanfare on Jan. 1, 1999. A stronger currency, a stronger Europe-wide economy and momentum from promised referendums on the euro in Britain and Sweden could change Danish sentiment.