Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned on Wednesday that NATO’s 2035 target to ramp up defense spending is “too late” and called for “rearming ourselves now,” citing among other factors the threat from Russia.
Addressing an audience at Sciences Po in Paris, Frederiksen argued that Europe must strengthen its military capabilities without delay in order to reduce its dependence on the United States, after US President Donald Trump unsettled transatlantic relations by floating the idea of taking control of Greenland.
Her remarks come as Washington continues to press European allies to assume greater responsibility for the continent’s conventional defense, with the United States – long NATO’s pre-eminent military power – increasingly redirecting its strategic focus toward challenges such as China.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European governments have already boosted defense budgets, and last year agreed to a substantial increase in NATO’s spending benchmark following sustained pressure from Trump.
Separately, the European Union has rolled out a series of initiatives that it says could enable member states to channel an additional €800 billion ($954 billion) into defense investment.
Frederiksen, who has vocally pushed back against Trump’s ambitions to acquire Greenland, an autonomous Danish dependent territory, warned on Wednesday that “the world order as we know it is over and I don’t think it will return.”
She characterized earlier decisions by European capitals to slash military spending as a “bad mistake,” and cautioned that Russia “does not want peace with Europe,” while stressing the necessity for Europe and the United States to “stick together” as geopolitical tensions intensify.
The Danish leader was also responding to recent remarks by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said EU lawmakers could “keep on dreaming” if they believed Europe was capable of defending itself without American support.
Frederiksen acknowledged that Europe would currently struggle to stand alone militarily, saying it would be “extremely difficult” under present conditions.
“Because when you look at intelligence, nuclear weapons, and so on, we depend on the US,” she said. “But I think we’re able to do more than what is being said publicly right now.”
However, she was unequivocal in rejecting NATO’s longer-term timetable for defense spending increases, stating: “I’m sorry to say it would be too late. I think rearming ourselves now is the most important thing.”
Her comments came as several other European leaders on Wednesday addressed the widening strain in relations with Washington and called for greater unity across the continent to deter potential aggression.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, described the dispute over Greenland as a “strategic wake-up call for all of Europe.”
He said that the resulting “awakening” must center on “on asserting our European sovereignty, on our contribution to Arctic security, on the fight against foreign interference and disinformation, and on the fight against global warming.”