Denmark: The government of Denmark has announced plans for female conscription to respond to Europe’s changing security climate.
Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister of Denmark, stated that the modified policy was organised to expand the number of young individuals taking up military service. Conscripts are anticipated to serve a more elongated period of military service, 11 months compared to the present four months.
Referring to Russia’s recent military moves, Frederiksen said that, “We are not rearming because we want war, destruction, or suffering. We are rearming right now to avoid war and in a world where the international order is being challenged.” Denmark is a founding fellow of the NATO coalition and intends to increase its security allocation by 40.5 billion Danish crowns ($5.9 billion) over the next five years.
According to the Danish PM, defence expenses will be 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and more than NATO’s target for member states in 2025. Although the country reduced its military capabilities since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine rekindled security concerns on the continent.
As a result of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin recently announced that he would send troops to Finland’s border, and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo warned that Moscow was preparing for a ‘long conflict with the West.’
Troels Lund Poulsen, the Defence Minister of Denmark, remarked that, “The situation in Europe has become more and more serious, and we have to take that into account when we look at future defence. A broader basis for recruiting that includes all genders is needed. It will create a more versatile and more complete defence.”
Denmark wants to improve the conscription digits from 300 to 5000. Under the modified draft, conscripts will first spend five months in primary training, followed by six months in functional service and ancillary training.
Paulsen noted that the latest plan would need a shift in the law, which would occur in 2025 and take effect in 2026. Presently, all able-bodied men over the age of 18 are called up for military service, which is decided by a lottery system. In 2017, Sweden held a military draft for both men and women amid concerns about the European and Swedish security environment. In 2013, Norway submitted a military conscription for both sexes.
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