Spettacolare spostamento della Danimarca dall’Atlanticismo alla difesa europea

**H**ow telling are the images of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen meeting her Nordic colleagues for dinner on January 26, then visiting Berlin, Paris and Brussels two days later, before heading to London on February 4! Faced with a US ally that no longer rules out using military or economic force to seize Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, and considers the Scandinavian kingdom “a bad ally,” Denmark “is not alone,” the Social Democrat leader wrote on Facebook. “We have several close allies with whom we share values. And we belong to a continent that we are well on our way to making even stronger (…) militarily, economically and technologically.”The change is striking. In power since 2019 and considered at the time to be the “most eurosceptic prime minister in the country’s history,” Frederiksen has been relentless in her criticism of an “overspending” European Union (EU). In Brussels, she joined her Austrian, Dutch and Swedish counterparts in the “frugal” group, apostles of budgetary orthodoxy who had opposed debt sharing as part of the 2020 European recovery plan, designed to counteract the impact of government restrictions to combat Covid-19.

Denmark’s participation in the European Security and Defense Policy was previously out of the question. Firstly, for technical reasons: before the Maastricht Treaty came into force in 1993, Copenhagen had obtained a series of exemptions concerning the single currency, European citizenship, justice and European security and defense policy. “Calling these opt-outs into question was unthinkable in the context of the time,” pointed out Kristian Soby Kristensen, Director of the Institute for Strategy and War Studies at the Royal Danish Defense College.

# ‘Shattered taboos’

In any case, Danish ambitions were very limited. Since the Second World War, the Nordic country, a founding member of NATO, had made its participation in the transatlantic alliance and its relationship with the US the foundation of its security policy. Nothing could call this principle into question. “I feared that it would not be possible to create a stronger European dimension (…) without causing problems in relation to NATO. That’s why I was skeptical about deep integration in this area,” admitted Frederiksen in an interview with *Politiken* newspaper on June 3, 2024, admitting that she had evolved since then.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the recent US disengagement from the European security architecture, have “shattered a number of entrenched positions, even taboos, on the Danish political scene,” noted Kristensen. This started with European security cooperation: in a referendum held as long ago as June 1, 2022, 67% of Danes voted yes to removing the country’s non-participation clause for EU defense. “We’re showing, that when Putin invades a free country and threatens the stability in Europe, we others pull together,” Frederiksen enthused.

Having neglected its defense, the small Nordic country is now investing heavily. The latest plan, presented on February 19, is set to increase its military spending to 3.2% of GDP by the end of the year (from 1.37% in 2022). Demonstrating unwavering support for Kyiv, Copenhagen has also established itself as one of its biggest contributors of military aid (fourth in financial volumes and first in proportion to its gross domestic product, according to the German Kiel Institute).Christine Nissen, a specialist in security and defense issues with the Danish think-tank Europa, stressed the “transactional” dimension of this positioning: by supporting Ukraine, but also “by increasing its defense spending, and perhaps even buying more US military capabilities, Denmark was hoping to please the Americans and Trump, and keep the transatlantic relationship in place,” she said.

# New ‘pragmatism’

The US president’s comments on Greenland and the statements made by US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, have shaken things up, according to Nissen, who observed “a new approach, with a willingness to build genuine defense cooperation in Europe.” “It’s not a total break, but a rebalancing,” said Kristensen, noting a new “pragmatism” in Copenhagen.