More robust recruitment, including full gender equality, should contribute to resolving the challenges of defence, national mobilization and the manpower of our armed forces”, said Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, in a press conference cited by the newspaper Political.
Denmark becomes the third country in Europe to introduce mandatory female conscription – after Norway (in 2015) and Sweden (in 2017) – changing the current system in which women could only volunteer for military service.
Military service in Denmark is already mandatory for men over 18 years of age, which reinforces the Army made up of 7,000 to 9,000 personnel, excluding recruits in basic training.
The Government also announced that it will extend the period of mandatory military service from four to 11 months, for both women and men.
At the same time, increased investment in air defense systems is planned, although the Danish Government explains that this does not mean a significant change in the country’s geostrategic positioning.
“We are not rearming because we want war, destruction or suffering. We are rearming to avoid war in a world where the international order is being challenged,” explained Danish Prime Minister Mete Frederiksen, who participated in the press conference alongside the Minister of Defense.
Denmark is one of the founding member countries of NATO and has been one of the most active European allies in supporting Kiev in resisting the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, being one of the few countries supplying F-16 fighters to Ukraine.
Last year, Denmark spent around 1.4% of Gross Domestic Product on defense, below the targets set by the Atlantic Alliance, but has already committed to increasing its spending in this sector by 5.4 billion euros over the next five years to achieve this goal.
