Denmark plans to invest 143 billion kroner (US$21 billion) in defense over the next 10 years, which combined with increased military aid to Ukraine would help it achieve NATO’s spending target this year, its government said.
A founding member of NATO, Denmark scaled back its military capabilities after the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s and has acknowledged major shortcomings in the ability to defend its territory and meet NATO commitments.
However, in response to the Ukraine crisis, last year it pledged to permanently increase spending on defense and security to 2 percent of GDP by the end of 2030, a key goal for NATO member states.
Photo: Reuters
“We must, to a greater extent, be able to live up to the demands and expectations that NATO and its allies have for Denmark,” Danish Acting Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen told a press conference. “This requires large investments in our armed forces to lift our share of the responsibility.”
The plans were announced as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has emerged as a serious contender to take over as NATO secretary-general, with incumbent Jens Stoltenberg due to step down in September.
An announcement last week that Frederiksen is to visit US President Joe Biden on Monday next week added to speculation about her potential candidacy.
Denmark currently spends around 27 billion kroner per year on defense, but would progressively increase this by up to 19.2 billion kroner by 2033, beginning with an increase of 6.9 billion kroner next year.
It is also allocating an additional 21.9 billion kroner in military aid to Ukraine over the next five years, which would propel Denmark’s total defense spending to 2 percent of GDP this year and next.
However, the country will only permanently meet NATO’s target in 2030, the government said.
The proposal will set the overall framework for defense spending, during which time decisions on actual military procurement will be agreed.
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