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Resolve and capability to take responsibility
With the 2024-2033 Defence Agreement, a majority of Danish Parliament agreed on a historical investment in Danish defence and security, thereby also ensuring that Denmark meets the NATO goal of spending a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence and security.
The 2024-2033 Danish Defence Agreement
Resolve and capability to take responsibility - Danish defence and security 2024-2033.
Overview
The agreement is a ten-year framework agreement, with ongoing assessments of changes in the needs and conditions of Danish defence and security, to be addressed through political agreements during the agreement period.
This will provide the greatest possible flexibility to handle the changes that Denmark must navigate, combined with a 10-year planning horizon that ensures long-term and stable economic frameworks for investments and initiatives.
Political agreements
The Danish government and the parties to the Defence Agreement have agreed to acquire an additional 16 F-35 fighter jets, bringing the total Danish fleet to 43 F-35 fighter jets.
Press release: Denmark to acquire 16 additional F-35 fighter jets
In close collaboration with the Government of Greenland (Naalakkersuisut) and the Government of the Faroe Islands, the Government of Denmark and the parties to the 2024-2033 Defence Agreement have agreed on the Second Agreement on the Arctic and North Atlantic.
The agreement involves a range of defence acquisitions to further strengthen the operational effectiveness of the Danish Armed Forces in the region.
Fact sheet: Second Agreement on the Arctic and North Atlantic
Capabilities for surveillance of critical infrastructure, new marine environment and mine-laying vessels are among the initiatives for strengthening the Danish Navy under a new agreement between the Danish Government and the political parties behind the Danish Defence Agreement.
Press release: Navy Plan Strengthens Maritime Capabilities of Danish Armed Forces
The Danish Government and the parties behind the defence agreement have agreed to accelerate the build-up of Danish Defence with an additional 50 billion DKK allocated over the coming two years and a reorganization of the Danish Ministry of Defence to help speed up investments.
With the increased funding Denmark will allocate more than 3 pct. of GDP on defence in 2025 and 2026.
The political parties behind the Danish Defence Agreement have settled on a new agreement regarding the Arctic and North Atlantic region.
This first agreement contains initiatives with financial commitments of a value of approximately 14 billion Danish kroner and the parties agree on the need for a second agreement on this issue to be concluded in the first half of 2025.
The Danish Government and a broad majority of the Danish Parliament have decided to further increase defence expenditures in the years 2024-2028 by DKK 35.2 billion in order to fast-track key investments in military capabilities.
Moreover, it is decided to strengthen Danish conscription entailing an 11 month service period, up to 7.500 yearly conscripts, and full gender equality.
The Government and a broad majority of the Danish Parliament have agreed on a first partial agreement under the Defence Agreement from June 2023. The partial agreement invests approx. DKK 16 billion in more military equipment and strengthened recruitment and retention of employees.
New long endurance drones will secure surveillance and assertion of sovereignty in the Arctic and North Atlantic has been decided by the parties in the first partial agreement under the Defence Agreement in coordination with the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
New, flexible approach to defence agreements
The 2024-2033 Defence Agreement was reached on 28 June 2023 by the Danish Government (Social Democrats, the Moderates, and Venstre), together with the Socialist People’s Party, the Danish Democrats, Liberal Alliance, the Conservative People’s Party, the Social Liberals, the Danish People’s Party, and the New Right.
The Government of the Faroe Islands and the Government of Greenland are involved with regard to the parts of the agreement concerning the Faroe Islands, Greenland, the Arctic, and the North Atlantic.
The agreement provides the greatest possible flexibility to handle the changes that Denmark must navigate, combined with a 10-year planning horizon that ensures long-term and stable economic frameworks for investments and initiatives.
Recruitment, retention, and training initiatives are central to ensuring the development of the Danish Armed Forces. Therefore, HR and training were addressed in negotiations on the first agreement, which also provides a model for strengthening conscription.
The 2024-2033 Defence Agreement builds the 2022 National Compromise on Danish Security Policy.
Three guiding principles
The parties agree that the historic strengthening of Danish defence and security is to be based on three guiding principles:
- Resolve and capability to shoulder our shared responsibility
- For the benefit of society
- Strong foundation
Resolve and capability to shoulder our shared responsibility
NATO remains an important cornerstone of Danish defence and security policy. Denmark must, to a greater extent, meet the demands that NATO and other allies place on us.
This requires, among other things, strengthening the Danish Armed Forces so they can deploy more forces with greater endurance and faster response, allowing Denmark to make a strong contribution to NATO’s collective deterrence and defence.
Conscription is a critical element of this effort, and therefore the parties to the agreement agree to strengthen conscription with more conscripts, more equality, and a longer period of conscription.
Denmark will also play an active role in cooperation on security and defence in the EU, including in the EU’s military missions and operations in fragile states, for example in Africa.
For the benefit of society
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown that war is not confined to the battlefield, but encompasses everything from energy policy and protection of critical infrastructure, to information warfare and cyber-attacks.
Therefore, the parties agree to prioritise Denmark’s overall societal security within the relevant authorities across the Danish state – including emergency preparedness, cybersecurity, intelligence efforts, and the Danish Home Guard.
Strong foundation
With this agreement, the Danish Government and the parties to it commit to restoring the foundations of the Danish Armed Forces and to ensuring better financial management in the face of complex geopolitical realities.
DKK 27 billion will be allocated over the next 10 years to strengthen the Danish Armed Forces’ equipment, buildings, IT, and personnel, as well as DKK 11 billion for additional investments in equipment and personnel.
In total, approximately DKK 190 billion will be allocated to strengthen the Danish Armed Forces over the next 10 years.
To establish the optimal conditions for growth and administration during the 10-year agreement period, an expert committee will also be appointed and tasked with providing recommendations on effective and efficient operation of the Danish Armed Forces.
Greater emphasis on geographical focus
The parties see three geographical areas of focus where Denmark must assume greater responsibility:
- The Kingdom of Denmark
- Neighbouring regions to the east
- Efforts in the world’s hotspots
The agreement also aims for a general reorientation of Denmark’s foreign and security policy from a presence in the world’s hotspots to a greater emphasis on the Kingdom of Denmark and surrounding regions.
Background analyses
A series of analyses and fiscal reviews were conducted ahead of the framework agreement.
- Restoring the Foundation of the Danish Armed Forces
- The Danish Government’s Plan to Strengthen Defence
- Resolve and capability to take responsibility (the Danish Government’s proposal for a 2024-2033 Defence Agreement)
Prior Danish Defence Agreements
With a six year Defence Agreement from 2018 to 2023 the Parties agreed to substantially increase defence spending.
With the Danish Defence Agreement 2013-2017, a broad agreement was reached regarding the organisation of the defence for the period 2013-2017, thus replacing the present agreement. The agreement was entered into by the parties behind the present Danish Defence Agreement 2010-2014.
Danish Defence Agreement 2013-2017 (pdf)
The agreement was made between seven of the eight political parties represented in the Danish parliament on June 24, 2009. The agreement describes that the development of the armed forces is to be continued along the lines set down in the 2005-2009 defence agreement.
- Defence Agreement 2010-2014 (English version)