NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NATO has been the cornerstone of Danish security and defense policy since 1949. The purpose og NATO is to promote security and stability in the North Atlantic area through political and military cooperation across the North Atlantic.

NATO is together with the UN, the EU and the OSCE, a multilateral collaboration through which Denmark contributes to safeguarding its security and defense policy interests, including contributing to the spread of peace, security and respect for human rights.

Denmark's security is rooted in NATO

The security political situation is the most serious since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Denmark's answer to the changed situation starts from NATO. It is in Denmark’s interest to contribute to NATO, including the collective deterrence and defence provided by the Alliance.

Together with NATO, Denmark needs to strengthen the collective defence and the collective deterrence. Therefore, by the defence agreement Denmark wants i.a. to:

• Place a effective brigade consisting of up till 4,000 soldiers in an independent unit.
• Fit the Royal Danish Navy’s frigates with short-range and, eventually, long-range air defence missiles.
• Improve the ability to combat threats from submarines.
• Strengthen the ability of the Danish Defence, the Home Guard and the reserves to mobilize whereas they have a special focus on protecting infrastructure and delivering host support to other NATO forces in Denmark.

Denmark's active participation in NATO

Denmark actively participates in the strengthening of NATO's deterrence and defense profile in NATO's enhanced forward presence (eFP) in Estonia with approximately 200 Danish soldiers and in Latvia with a combat battalion of approximately 800 soldiers deployed under the NATO framework. And Denmark has provided F-16 combat aircraft for NATO's Enhanced Vigilance Activities over Poland, just as Denmark continuously contributes F-16 combat aircraft to (Baltic Air Policing (BAP) in Lithuania.

Denmark regularly participates in NATO's standing naval forces, which operate throughout the Alliance's area of responsibility.

Denmark actively participates in international operations under NATO auspices as part of special counter-terrorism and capacity building, including in NATO Mission Iraq (NMI).

Units from all branches of the defence are registered with NATO's reaction forces and can be deployed at short notice in the world's hotspots.

The military cooperation in NATO includes, among other things, formation of joint headquarters and military capacities, the design of technical standards and joint procedures, joint exercises and, not least, joint military operations.

The Danish Ministry of Defence on NATO Ministry of Defence