Denmark has voted overwhelmingly to join the EU’s common defence policy, becoming the last of the bloc’s members to sign up, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to reshape Europe’s security landscape.
The referendum on Wednesday, in which voters backed the government’s proposal by 66.9% to 33.1%, followed historic applications by Denmark’s previously non-aligned Nordic neighbours, Finland and Sweden, to join Nato last month.
Denmark, historically critical of the EU, secured exemptions from joining the common security and defence policy (CSDP) and the euro in a 1993 referendum, but the country’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said it was time to change tack.
“Tonight Denmark has sent a very important signal. To our allies in Europe and Nato, and to Putin,” she told cheering supporters on Wednesday evening after the result was published.
“We’re showing that when Putin invades a free country and threatens stability in Europe, we others pull together.
“Denmark now can partake in the European cooperation on defence and security. And for that I’m very, very happy.”
Frederiksen called the referendum barely two weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after reaching an agreement with a majority of parties in the Danish parliament, and pledged to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP, in line with Nato membership requirements, by 2033.
“Nato will of course remain our most important tool, but the EU gives us another in securing our defence in the east,” the ruling Social Democrats’ defence spokesperson, Mogens Jensen, said. Eleven of Denmark’s 14 parties, representing more than three-quarters of seats in parliament, had urged voters to drop the opt-out.
“The world is changing, and not in a good way. We need to stand together and strengthen the cooperation that strengthens our security,” said Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, head of the opposition Liberal party.
Participation in the EU’s defence policy will allow Denmark, a founding Nato member, to take part in joint EU military operations, such as those in Bosnia, Mali and Somalia, and will allow Danish officials to stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defence issues.
EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel welcomed the result.
Denmark’s decision was a “strong message of commitment to our common security”, Von der Leyen tweeted, saying Denmark and the European Union would benefit.
“This decision will benefit Europe and make both the EU and the Danish people safer and stronger,” Michel wrote on Twitter.
It would be seen largely as a symbolic win in Brussels, experts said. “The political significance will outweigh the military contribution,” said Kristian Soby Kristensen, a senior researcher at Copenhagen University’s Centre for Military Studies.
Those opposed to abandoning the opt-out argued that the EU’s defence cooperation is hampered by excessive bureaucracy and inefficient decision-making, and that a joint European defence would come at the expense of Nato.