Denmark reaches consensus on defense spending to meet NATO target

By Ebad Ahmed

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AA) – Denmark reached a political consensus on Thursday to spend an additional 143 billion kroner ($20.9 billion) on the country’s military over the next 10 years in a bid to meet NATO’s spending target for member nations by 2030.

The agreement was signed by 12 parliamentary parties, with only the left-wing Red Green Alliance and Alternative parties being the exception. Both parties were not even invited to the negotiations on the proposed defense budget due to their stern opposition to meeting NATO’s defense target, which calls for each member country to contribute 2% of its GDP to defense spending.

The new defense framework will see an increase in conscription in the armed forces, but it has not made military service compulsory for women yet.

Denmark’s acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said a decision on military service for women is expected to be taken by this autumn.

"We have made a broad agreement in which we say that we want more equality. We will then discuss the concrete model later in 2023," he told a local media outlet after the announcement of the defense agreement,

The renewed approach to Denmark’s defense budget was justified by the parties in view of the military needs of the country as a NATO member.