Denmark ramps up military spending amid European concerns
In the spring, Denmark approved a military spending plan aimed at joining the group of countries allocating at least 2% of GDP to defense. The head of the Danish government has indicated that the plan will need revision due to the perceived serious threat to Europe's security, a concern she shares with other leaders.
Northern European countries are increasing their defense budgets. In Sweden, defense spending will rise to about 2.6% of GDP. Estonia has advocated for spending of at least 2.5-3% of GDP. Lithuania has announced an increase in defense expenditures to 3.5% of GDP.
Until recently, only the three Baltic countries allocated more than 2.5% of GDP to defense, while others spent slightly over 2%.
Denmark has now joined this group. The country, with a population of about 6 million people, intends to revise its five-year defense spending plan just eight months after its approval. The Danish Prime Minister has acknowledged that the nation will need to dedicate more resources to defense due to rising security threats in Europe, as reported by the "Financial Times."
Denmark changes its stance on military spending
In April, the Danish government reached a cross-party agreement to increase defense investment by 4.9 billion US dollars from 2024 to 2028, according to the newspaper.
This investment was initially believed to be sufficient to meet NATO's goal of spending at least 2% of GDP on the military. However, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen now believes the plan is outdated, and admits that the April coalition agreement will need to be revised.
"FT" noted that her comments illustrate how quickly European governments need to reassess their defense commitments. A future U.S. President, Donald Trump, is reportedly determined to swiftly end the war in Ukraine and shift more of the defense funding responsibility to European nations.
The newspaper notes ongoing discussions within NATO about increasing spending targets, encouraging member countries to aim for 3% of GDP. This topic was addressed at the Joint Expeditionary Force summit held earlier this week in Tallinn.
The JEF was established in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. The current members are Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. This group plays a critical role in deterring and defending the Baltic region before activating Article 5 of NATO. On Tuesday, December 17, Northern European countries within the JEF expressed their support for increasing defense spending.
Estonia calls: The West must take the issue seriously
On Friday, the head of Estonia's foreign intelligence service, Kaupo Rosin, stated that NATO's primary task for the next 10-20 years will be to deter and prevent Russian aggression. This is to ensure that Russia does not entertain any aggressive military ambitions against the West. Rosin believes that the West must address this issue seriously and allocate more resources to defense investments.
"NATO and national military plans must be credible, must be real and must be backed up with real resources, regarding troops present, follow on units, ammunition. If we do our homework properly, then we will be able to deter Russia," said Rosin in an interview with Reuters.
