The country reduced its military capabilities after the end of the Cold War, but is reassessing the situation in a changed security climate.
Denmark will call up both women and men as it expands conscription to respond to the changing security climate in Europe.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the revised policy was designed to increase the number of young people undertaking military service.
Recruits are also expected to serve longer in the military: 11 months, compared to the current four months.
“We are not rearming because we want war, destruction or suffering. “We are rearming right now to avoid war and in a world where the international order is being challenged,” Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday, indirectly referring to Russia's military moves in recent years and months.
Denmark, a founding member of the NATO alliance, also plans to increase its defense budget by 40.5 billion Danish crowns ($5.9 billion) over the next five years. Frederiksen said defense spending would amount to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and in 2025, above NATO's target for member states.
The country reduced its military capabilities after the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, but Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine has once again raised concerns about security on the continent.
On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would send troops to its border with Finland, which joined NATO last year as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, while Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo warned that Moscow was preparing for a “long conflict with the West.” .
The situation in Europe “has become increasingly serious and we have to take this into account when we look at future defense,” said Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen. “There needs to be a broader base for recruiting that includes all genders,” he said, adding that it will create “a more versatile and well-rounded defense.”
Denmark currently has about 9,000 professional soldiers, in addition to 4,700 recruits receiving basic training, according to official figures.
The government wants to increase the number of recruits by 300 to a total of 5,000. According to the revised draft, recruits will first undergo five months of basic training, followed by six months of operational service along with supplementary training.
The new system will require a change in the law, which Poulsen said would occur in 2025 and come into force in 2026.
Currently, all able-bodied men over the age of 18 are called up for military service, which is decided by a lottery system.
Neighboring Sweden introduced a military draft for men and women in 2017 amid concerns about the security environment in Europe and around Sweden.
The Scandinavian country, which joined NATO this month, had previously abolished conscription for men in 2010 because there were enough volunteers to meet its military needs. Women were not required to perform national service before the law was changed.
Norway introduced a law applying mandatory military service to both sexes in 2013.
