By AFP
Pushing countries to keep vows to boost defence spending and bolstering Europe鈥檚 鈥渄angerous鈥 security will top Denmark鈥檚 agenda as it takes over the European Union鈥檚 rotating presidency on Tuesday, according to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Denmark is among European nations put on edge by Russia鈥檚 2022 invasion of Ukraine and who have already increased military spending.
鈥淲e want something with our presidency. Security is clearly defined as the top priority,鈥 Frederiksen said in an interview with the Politiken daily published on Sunday.
鈥淲e have a new NATO goal that has been adopted. For that to happen, we need to rearm Europe. Once the NATO goal is in place, most other things come down to EU policy,鈥 she said.
NATO members agreed last week to invest 3.5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on core military spending and 1.5 percent on broader security-related areas such as infrastructure by 2035.
Spain has called the goal 鈥渦nreasonable鈥 and asked for flexibility.
During its six month turn as EU president, Denmark wants to push ahead with EU plans presented in March to increase EU defence capabilities by simplifying procedures and offering countries loans to finance investment in Europe鈥檚 defence industry.
Europe鈥檚 security situation is 鈥渦nstable, and because it鈥檚 unstable, it鈥檚 dangerous,鈥 Frederiksen told Politiken.
鈥淚f we look at the history of Europe, we know that conflicts tend to spread. There is so much tension today and that on its own can generate more tension,鈥 she added.
– A Secure Europe –
Denmark is one of Europe鈥檚 biggest donors of aid to Ukraine.
In power since 2019, Frederiksen has significantly increased Denmark鈥檚 defence spending to more than three percent of GDP.
Copenhagen has been a staunch US ally but has increasingly switched its focus to European security after US President Donald Trump鈥檚 threats to annex Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory.
In its programme for 鈥淎 Secure Europe鈥, the Danish EU presidency has also prioritised the fight against illegal migration, vowing to come up with 鈥渘ew and innovative solutions鈥.
Denmark鈥檚 strict migration policies have spread across Europe, and the country hopes to build EU consensus on externalising asylum procedures outside Europe, and restricting the scope of rulings from the European Court of Human Rights.
鈥淚rregular migration cannot be allowed to threaten European cohesion,鈥 Denmark said in its official EU presidency programme.
The Scandinavian country recently joined Italy and seven other nations to seek a reinterpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights to allow for changes to migration policy, arguing that the text sometimes protects 鈥渢he wrong people鈥.