0
0
As WaL has covered over the last 6 months, the world, and particularly NATO member states, are continuing to set records for modern military spending. Levels among the three largest spenders are continuing to climb, while Central and Western Europe are reaching spending levels seen during the Cold War.
Now, Denmark becomes the latest European nation to decide that a massive new budget is needed for security reasons. The nation hopes under the light of the war in Ukraine to fulfill long-neglected NATO requirements for 2% of her GDP to be spent on soldiers, weapons, and vehicles.
On Tuesday the Scandinavian nation announced it would be tripling its defense budget while also announcing an additional $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine.
“The government wants to significantly strengthen Danish defense and security with approximately 143 billion kroner ($20.5 billion) over the next 10 years,” acting Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement.
The government plans to find the cash for the project in part by the abolition of a public holiday that has already passed, despite protests from many Danes.
“The goal remains to keep the Arctic and the North Atlantic as a low-tension area. We will, of course, protect Denmark and fulfill our obligation to take joint responsibility for security in the Baltics and the Baltic Sea,” Lund Poulsen added.
“At the same time, Denmark must continue to support Ukraine significantly… And we must continue to be active and be able to send contributions to the rest of the world”.
Along with Denmark, NATO members France, Lithuania, Finland, and Poland have all announced large military budget increases. Polish defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak said in January his country intended to add a new army division in order to raise the uniformed soldiery of the country to 300,000 in a bid to become a “true land superpower in Europe,” and that it would be equipped with “unprecedented” purchases of military firepower for NATO allies and partners like South Korea.
France, which is intending to shell out tens of billions on the modernization of her nuclear arsenal, plans to see the budget for the years between 2024 and 2030 rise to €413 billion, ($447 billion) up from €295 billion ($320 billion) during the period of 2019-2025.
Japan too recently announced a 23% increase in the military budget, particularly for missile and missile defense capabilities, while new NATO-member Finland announced a 70% one-time increase in military spending. WAL
PICTURED ABOVE: Troels Lund Poulsen, then-Minister for Employment of Denmark, speaking at the WEF in 2019. PC: World Economic Forum. CC 2.0.
If you think the stories you’ve just read were worth a few dollars, consider donating here to our modest $500-a-year administration costs.
