Conference: A new momentum for Denmark in EU defence policy
On the 28th of April 2023, Terma, Aalborg University, the Think Tank EUROPA and DI Danish Defence and Security Industries Association will co-host in Copenhagen (Søborg) a high-level conference on Denmark and EU defence policy following the lifting of the opt-out.
The past decade has seen a return of power politics and inter-state competition on the European continent, culminating in the Russian aggression of Ukraine in February 2022. Over the last months, European nations have been pressed to re-assess existing threats to their territories, bolster their defence capabilities, and find new ways for developing the existing frameworks of collective security. As a result, the EU adopted in March 2022 its Strategic Compass, the Union’s first ever white paper on EU defence policy, while NATO adopted in July 2022 a new ten year strategic concept.
In Denmark, this new security context has generated a new impulse for Danish participation in the EU security and defence policy, demonstrated by the outcome of the referendum in June 2022 where 66.87% of Danish citizens voted in favour of lifting the thirty years long opt-out provision on the European defence. Few months later, the Nord Stream incident in September 2022 and the overall intensification of threats in the Nordic region also confirmed that “it is more important than at any other time since the end of the Cold War that we are firmly rooted in NATO and the EU” (report ‘Danish defence towards 2035’).
The upcoming negotiations for a 10 year long Danish Defence agreement is a timely momentum to have the triple helix (authorities, industries, universities, and research centers) jointly reflecting on what should be Denmark’s approach towards EU defence policy, how it can support Danish resilience and readiness towards current threats and strengthen Denmark as a military partner. To this end, the conference will invite speakers and participants to discuss and reflect on the following issues:
- What benefits can Denmark derive from further engaging in EU defence policy with regards to the current security context? What should be the priority areas?
- What are the functional and organisational challenges to overcome thirty years of “opt-out”?
- What are the conditions to increase the Danish ownership of the European Defence Fund (EDF)?
- How should the EU defence policy be integrated in the next Danish defence agreement?
