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MILITARY

Denmark agrees to host US troops and equipment in new defence deal

Denmark has struck a historic new defence deal with the US that will allow US troops and equipment to be based permanently on Danish soil, the country's government announced on Tuesday.

Published: 19 December 2023 14:14 CET
Denmark agrees to host US troops and equipment in new defence deal
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Denmark's defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen announce the new defence deal with the US. Photo: Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the ten-year agreement a “breakthrough in Danish defence” at a press conference on Tuesday morning. 

“We live in violent times, with many forces that challenging our democracy and the democratic rules of the game,” she said. “We are not going to hide the fact that this agreement with the US marks a new breakthrough in Danish defence policy. It means that American soldiers and equipment can be permanently stationed on Danish soil”. 

Denmark has declined to host military bases or nuclear warheads for the US or other Nato powers since 1953, a policy brought in to avoid aggravating the Soviet Union.  

The new deal ends this 70-year ban, giving the US access to three air bases at Karup, Skrydstrup and Aalborg in south, central and northern Jutland respectively.

The US would be permitted to station military personal for “both shorter and longer periods”, Frederiksen said, allowing Denmark to “strengthen the US’s access to Europe and to the Baltic Sea” and so “contribute to NATO’s collective defense in Europe”.

In addition to the air bases, the US will also be allowed to use the port of Esbjerg to ship in personnel, vehicles and weapons for troops in Denmark and in the rest of Europe.

The announcement came a day after Finland signed a defence cooperation agreement which will allow US troops to operate on its territory, including along its border with Russia. A similar deal was struck with Sweden earlier in December. Denmark launched negtotiations with the US on the deal last February. 

The Danish deal will be signed early next week but according to Frederiksen will only come into force when Denmark’s parliament has passed new legislation in about a year’s time.

Under the deal, US soldiers stationed in Denmark will be subject to US law, although in some circumstances they will still be able to prosecuted in Denmark. 

Frederiksen said that she believed that Denmark’s security would be bolstered by a US military presence. “I would rather have an American presence in Denmark than the opposite,” she said.

Member comments

    1. Could she mean “than the other side” – IE, the Russians? Here’s the quote in Danish: “Noget af det er selvfølgelig på nogle meget klare amerikanske ønsker, som vi ikke ønsker at anfægte. Jeg vil til enhver tid hellere have amerikansk tilstedeværelse i Danmark end det modsatte”

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MILITARY

One in four in Denmark stocked up with ‘crisis’ water and food

A significant proportion of the Danish population has followed official advice to ensure they have enough supplies at home to get by for three days in the event of a crisis.

Published: 25 June 2024 13:40 CEST
One in four in Denmark stocked up with ‘crisis’ water and food

Around a quarter of households have stocked three days’ supplies of water after advice was issued by authorities earlier this month to keep stores in case of a crisis.

A survey for newswire Ritzau by the Voxmeter institute found that around a quarter have already followed the guidelines. Over 1,000 people answered the survey, which was conducted between 6 and 9 days after the announcement.

The Danish Emergency Management Service (Beredsskabstyrelsen, DEMA) on June 15th issued advice for the general public to have certain supplies at home so that they are prepared in the event of a crisis. This can can mean natural events like extreme weather or human acts like cyber attacks or sabotage, DEMA said.

DEMA’s director Laila Reenberg, said at a briefing on the recommendations that there was no need to “rush out in panic” to purchase crisis supplies.

“But when you happen to be out grocery shopping, you can gradually fill out your supplies,” she said.

Some 26 percent said they have sufficient stocks of both food and water, while 72 percent said they did not in the survey conducted between June 21st-24th.

Those proportions are reasonable according to an expert, who said it was not expected that the entire country would rush to supermarkets to shop for the full checklist.

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But the numbers can also be used as a guideline for authorities, said Nina Blom Andersen, specialist in Disaster and Risk Management University College Copenhagen, speaking to news wire Ritzau.

“The authorities should use it as a signpost showing that they should always be aware that there is a group they need to look after,” she said.

The survey also asked respondents if they planned to buy things on the checklist that they do not already have.

Items on the list include power banks, first aid kits and wind-up radios.

“What could change these numbers to people being better prepared at home is continued focus on the task from the media, from authorities and that people keep talking about it in their social networks, private lives and relations,” Andersen said.

Focus on the issue from local as well as national authorities could also boost uptake, she added.

Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has said that information will be sent to all residents in Denmark by secure email “after the summer”.

Folders will also be placed at libraires and other public institutions, he said.

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