COPENHAGEN – Denmark is among the EU’s most generous supporters of Ukraine, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is one of Europe’s strongest advocates for boosting defence spending.
Yet when it comes to Denmark’s own civil preparedness, the picture looks starkly different.
For Frederiksen, Europe must rapidly strengthen its defence capabilities, with leaders able to field a “fully capable defence” within a few years. However, while its Nordic neighbours have spent years rebuilding their ‘total defence’ systems, Denmark largely neglected its crisis readiness and is now five to ten years behind regional standards, analysts warn.
The lag leaves the country unusually vulnerable at a time of rising geopolitical risk and growing expectations for European self-reliance.
“We started much later than the other Nordic countries in taking the Russian threat seriously, and thus also civil preparedness seriously,” Peter Viggo Jakobsen, associate professor at the Royal Danish Defense College, told Euractiv.
Denmark’s geographical distance from Russia and smaller size partly explain the slower response, he added.
By contrast, Norway earlier this year unveiled a sweeping package of 100 measures to bolster readiness for a “worst case scenario”. Since 2015, Sweden has reactivated its “total defence” obligations, requiring all citizens aged 16 to 70 to contribute in the event of war or major threats.
Meanwhile, Finland is widely considered the Nordic benchmark, having maintained robust Cold War-era preparedness structures.
Denmark, however, has not produced comparable strategic reviews or civil-defence assessments, said Roskilde University researcher Rasmus Dahlberg. “This gap prevents the country from taking the necessary steps to catch up,” he warned.
A ‘total paradox’
Jakobsen described the mismatch between Denmark’s high-profile support for Ukraine and its domestic vulnerabilities as a “total paradox”. But strategically, the approach has its own logic, he said:
“The idea is that when all other European countries build up their defence, the overall threat to Denmark becomes smaller”.
For decades Denmark relied on the United States to guarantee its security. This reduced the political urgency to invest in national defence and civil protection. But with growing uncertainty about US commitments, Frederiksen has shifted to arguing that Europe must urgently strengthen its own capabilities.
“Suddenly, Denmark needs someone else to save us. That could be the Nordics or other European countries,” Jakobsen said. Denmark’s strategy, he added, effectively postponed hard choices about national preparedness.
“Danish politicians have put on a front that they were doing a lot. But fact is, they haven’t done much until just recently,” he said.
Frustration among experts
Denmark’s shortcomings predate Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In 2018, Sweden and Norway sent guidance to every household urging residents to stock three days of water and food – later increased to a week. Danish households received no official preparedness advice until 2024.
Sweden also mandates one full week of crisis-preparedness education in schools each year; Denmark has no such requirement.
“Many of us had reached a point where we didn’t care much what was done, as long as something was done,” Dahlberg said. His research, along with a government-commissioned report, underscored widespread confusion over who is responsible for civil preparedness.
Denmark attempted to fix this by creating a Ministry of Societal Security and Preparedness in 2024. But structural issues remain.
“Everything isn’t solved just because you establish a new ministry, if all the old problems follow,” Dahlberg said, citing inadequate authority and unclear responsibilities.
Bunker chaos
Since taking office, the new liberal preparedness minister, Torsten Schack Pedersen, has faced criticism for lacking the necessary powers to overhaul Denmark’s system.
It remains unclear whether the ministry has the legal power to require municipalities, agencies and organizations to strengthen their preparedness, or whether it can only issue recommendations.
“It is wild – even grotesque – that we have a government that constantly, and rightly, talks about war and hybrid threats, but at the same time gives so little attention to preparedness,” wrote political commentator Amalie Lyhne in Berlingske.
One of the most heavily criticised gaps is Denmark’s lack of oversight over public bunkers and shelters.
Responsibility lies with municipalities, and local media investigations have shown that many bunkers have been repurposed – for music studios, storage or other uses – or left in disrepair and unusable in a crisis.
Schack Pedersen has said he wants the state to regain control over bunkers, while insisting municipalities must continue bearing the costs.
Across the Øresund straight, Swedes can consult an online map showing their nearest shelter. Danes, by contrast, do not know how many usable bunkers exist nationwide.
Euractiv has requested comment from the Danish Ministry of Societal Security and Preparedness. No response had been received at the time of publication.
(cs, jp)