Denmark to start military drafting for women, expands mandatory military service period

Europe, News March 15, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

Denmark has announced that it will call up women along with men as it expands its military conscription amid the deteriorating security situation in Europe. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the revised policy was designed to increase the number of young people doing military service.

Denmark, one of the founding members of the NATO alliance, has also revised the policy on the mandatory military service period, increasing the time of service from 4 months to 11 months for both genders.

“We do not rearm because we want war. We are rearming because we want to avoid it,” Frederiksen told a press conference. She said that her government wants “full equality between the sexes.”

According to official statistics, Denmark currently has approximately 9,000 professional troops, alongside 4,700 conscripts currently undergoing basic training. In the initial phase, the government aims to augment the number of conscripts by 300, achieving a total of 5,000.

At present, all Danish men are required to attend a ‘Defense Day’ after turning 18, which consists of compulsory exercise and a series of tests to determine whether they are fit for military service. If declared fit, potential conscripts must draw a lottery number. This determines whether they will be assigned a place of service at the Danish Defense Forces or the Danish Emergency Management Agency.

During the press briefing, Frederiksen also announced that Denmark’s said defense spending would amount to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and in 2025, above NATO’s target for member states. Copenhagen plans to boost its defense budget by $5.9 billion over the next five years.

^{Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (C), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen (L), and Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen give a press conference on strengthening the Armed Forces, at the State Ministry, Christiansborg, in Copenhagen on March 13, 2024. (Image Credit: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)}

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that the situation in Europe has escalated, necessitating a careful consideration of future defense strategies. He emphasized the necessity for a more inclusive recruitment approach encompassing all genders, which, he believes, will lead to a more adaptable and comprehensive defense system.

Currently, no EU member state enforces mandatory military service for both genders. However, several EU countries such as Greece, Austria, Finland, Lithuania, and Estonia uphold compulsory military service solely for men.

Norway and Sweden have the closest approximation to gender-neutral service, where all citizens above a specified age are required to register and report for duty. Nevertheless, the selection processes typically lead to significantly fewer women than men being drafted.

In 2017, Denmark’s neighboring Sweden implemented a similar military draft policy that included mandatory services for selected men and women. This decision was made in response to apprehensions regarding the security landscape in Europe and surrounding Sweden.

Denmark armed forces — *^{Denmark to introduce conscription for women and extend the length of national service. (Image Credit: Hæren/via TheGaze)}*

Sweden, like many other European states, abolished the mandatory military services in 2010 because there were enough volunteers available for military services, however, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine many European countries are considering upscaling their mandatory military services requirements for both men and women.