Northern Europe ups defence budgets amid rising tensions
In the spring, Denmark approved a military spending plan aiming to join the group of countries allocating at least 2% of GDP to defence. The head of the Danish government already recognizes that the plan will need revision. There is a serious threat to Europe's security, and she's not alone in this belief.
Northern European countries are poised to increase defence spending. In Sweden, spending will rise to about 2.6% of GDP. Estonia has been advocating for an increase to at least 2.5-3% of GDP. Lithuania has announced its expenditures will increase to 3.5% of GDP.
Until recently, only the three Baltic countries allocated more than 2.5% of GDP to defence, while the others allocated slightly over 2%.
Now, Denmark is joining this group. The country, home to about 6 million people, wants to scrap its five-year defence spending plan just eight months after its approval. The Danish Prime Minister admitted her country will have to spend more due to the increasing threat to Europe's security. The "Financial Times" reports on this matter.
Denmark changes its stance on military spending
In April, the Danish government concluded a cross-party agreement to increase defence investments by about 7 billion Canadian dollars over 2024-2028, recalls the newspaper.
This was intended for Denmark to meet NATO's goal of spending at least 2% of GDP on the military. However, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen believes this plan has become outdated. She acknowledges that the April coalition agreement will need to be changed.
"FT" points out that her comments underscore how quickly European governments need to reassess their defence commitments, as future U.S. President Donald Trump is determined to quickly end the war in Ukraine and shift the burden of defence funding to European capitals.
The newspaper notes an ongoing discussion within NATO about increasing the goal and encouraging member countries to spend 3% of GDP on defence. This topic was discussed at the Joint Expeditionary Force summit, organized at the beginning of the week in Tallinn.
The JEF was created in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Currently, the JEF includes Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. This group is expected to play a key role in deterring and defending the Baltic region before NATO's Article 5 is activated. On Tuesday, December 17, Northern European countries within the JEF expressed support for increasing defence 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 task for the next 10-20 years will be to deter and prevent Russia from contemplating military aggression against the West. Rosin insists that the West must address this seriously, allocating greater resources to defence 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 the head of Estonian intelligence in an interview with Reuters.
