A historic day in Danish politics: a national consensus on Danish defense policy – these are the key points.

The press conference called by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, in which Pia Olsen Dær, leader of the SF party, Jakob Ellemann Jensen, leader of the Liberal Party (the largest opposition party), Sophie Carsten Nielsen, leader of the Radical Party, and Søren Pape Poulsen, leader of the Conservative Party, participated, ended a short while ago. The press conference revolved around “the national compromise on Danish defense policy.”.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the day as a historic one in Danish politics, saying, "This day will forever remain a historic day, as we move from asking others to protect us to protecting ourselves.".

One of the most important points raised at the press conference was the parliamentary agreement between the Red Bloc parties (the government and supporting parties) and the Blue Bloc (the opposition) on Danish defense policy, whereby the Danish defense budget will be raised to 2% of GDP in 2023.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine a week and a half ago, several parties said it was time to raise the defense budget by several billion. These parties agree that 21 TP3T of GDP should be spent on defense, and the government, under the National Settlement on Defense, must provide 7 billion kronor over the next two years.

Mette Frederiksen told the press conference that Danes will vote in a referendum on the "defense reservation" on June 1, something they voted against in 1992. The "defense reservation" means that Denmark does not participate in the EU's armed forces. It's worth noting that the leader of the Danish People's Party, Morten Messerschmitt, opposes lifting the defense reservation, commenting, "Now the Danish government is saying it wants to participate in an undefined EU defense project, the details of which we don't really know. We can see that the EU has many commitments not in Ukraine or Eastern Europe, but in Mali, Cape Horn, and all sorts of places in Africa and Asia. Is this where Danish soldiers are supposed to fight in the future?".  

No more gas from Russia
Regarding Denmark's imports of Russian gas, Mette Frederiksen also said that Denmark - like the rest of Europe - must get rid of its dependence on gas from Russia, but that will take time and cannot be done in a week or two, and we will work on that as well in the rest of Europe.

When asked about the possibility of nuclear weapons being present on Danish soil, she expressed her opinion.
Mette Frederiksen expressed her refusal to have nuclear weapons on Danish soil, while Søren Pape Poulsen and Jakob Elman Jensen both responded with no refusal. Pape said, "We would have to consider such a request if it came," and Jensen said, "I would rather see American nuclear weapons than Russian weapons in Denmark.".

When a journalist asked about the possibility of a compromise on Danish defense policy, Mette Frederiksen replied, “Now everyone in the Western world has to make their decisions. Ukraine is the difference. A free, democratic country is under attack from Russia.”.

As Mette Frederiksen said, “Putin has ushered in a new era, a new reality. The conflict in Ukraine is not just Ukraine’s conflict. We stand together in Europe.”.