Overstretched? Denmark's security policy and armed forces in light of the new Defence Agreement - Szymański, Piotr (Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia, 2018)
In January 2018, Denmark adopted a new Defence Agreement for 2018-2023 - a cross-party strategy for the development of the Danish armed forces. The Agreement, which is adopted by the Danish parliament every five years and implemented regardless of the current governing coalition, provides, for the first time since 1989, for an increase in defence spending of 20 per cent, as well as a greater balance between out-of-area operations and collective defence. The Agreement also provides for the armed forces' greater assistance to the police in anti-terrorism measures and border control, and investments in cyber capabilities. Despite these changes, the Danish armed forces will remain primarily an expeditionary structure. Moreover, the planned increase in defence spending could turn out to be insufficient to implement the Agreement in full. From minimalism to activismDuring the Cold War, Copenhagen's defence policy was based on self-imposed restraints in NATO.