Denmark aims for closer Nordic security ties

Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in mid May that Denmark aims to strengthen defense ties with other Nordic countries. Partnering up would help protect critical infrastructure and counter the Russian threat both in the Arctic and the Baltic Sea region.

A new foreign and security policy strategy calls for more joint military exercises and coordination of defense plans with its Nordic neighbors.

“With Finland’s accession to NATO and Sweden on the way, there is a historic opportunity for us to move closer together in a situation where all the Baltic Sea countries, except Russia, are members of the same defense alliance,” Foreign

Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a speech.

Danes voted last year to join the European Union’s defense policy. This signals a shift to deepen defense ties in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Denmark is already working with Sweden, Norway and Finland to create a unified Nordic air defense.

NATO is still the cornerstone of Denmark’s defense and security, with the United States remaining its most important security ally, Løkke stated.

Denmark last published a foreign and security policy strategy just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The new strategy acknowledges that Denmark has not taken the security threat from Russia in the Baltic Sea region seriously enough. The strategy also points out shortcomings in its ability to defend its own territory. Denmark aims to meet the NATO spending target of 2% of GDP by 2030.