After Russia invaded Ukraine, Denmark’s government said on Tuesday that it would triple its defense budget over the next 10 years.
Denmark plans to reach the NATO goal of spending 2% of its gross domestic product on the military by 2030. This is a goal that few of the alliance’s 30 countries ever reach.
In a release, acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said, “The government wants to spend about 143 billion kroner ($20.5 billion) over the next 10 years to make a big difference in Danish defense and security.”
In 2024, 6.9 billion kroner will be spent on tools, people, and infrastructure. By 2033, that number should rise to 19.2 billion kroner.
Some of the extra money will come from getting rid of a public holiday that has already happened, even though many Danes are upset about it.
At the moment, 1.38 percent of Denmark’s GDP goes to defense.
The news came a day after Denmark said it would add 17.9 billion kroner to the 7.5 billion kroner it had already promised in March to a fund to help Ukraine, mostly for military aid.
“The goal is still to keep the Arctic and the North Atlantic from being places with a lot of stress. We will, of course, protect Denmark and do what we have to do to make sure the Baltics and the Baltic Sea are safe,” Lund Poulsen said.
“At the same time, Denmark needs to keep giving Ukraine a lot of help,” the minister said. “We also need to stay busy and be able to send money to the rest of the world.”
