In Denmark, women will have to perform military service starting from 2026. The government has also extended the detention from 4 to 11 months.
“We rearm not to make war but to avoid it,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and her country thus becomes the third European nation - together with Norway and Sweden - to require women to serve in the armed forces.
Not only that: Copenhagen has also announced that it wants to increase the defense budget by almost 6 billion dollars over the next five years to achieve NATO objectives.
For the Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, «a more robust conscription, which includes full gender equality, must help solve the challenges of defense, national mobilization and the equipment of our armed forces».
In Denmark, women can currently volunteer for military service. Last year, 4,700 people served in the military, about 25 percent of whom were women. This number will be increased to 5,000 per year. The Danish Armed Forces currently has around 20,000 active personnel, including around 9,000 professional troops. In 2017, neighboring Sweden introduced military conscription for both men and women after the Stockholm government had cited a deterioration in the security environment in Europe.
(Unioneonline/ss)