Denmark has officially joined the EUʼs common defence policy

On June 20, Denmark officially announced its accession to the EUʼs common defence and security policy. This decision was supported in a referendum the day before.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter.

"I have received the official notification of Denmark joining our Common Security and Defence Policy. With this, Europe will be even more united, EU defence even stronger, and it will increase our capacity to act," he said.

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod called the day historic and also confirmed the transfer of official documents.

"I have just informed our EU partners that Denmark will abolish the defence opt-out. The last step before we can participate from July 1. We are ready to step up and take on more responsibility for European security," he said.

The EUʼs common security and defence policy is a key component of the EUʼs overall common foreign and security policy. It provides for permanent structured cooperation between the armies of the EU member states, the possible deployment of military or civilian missions to maintain peace or prevent conflicts. Also, this common policy actually provides for the common defence of the European Union from any external aggressive actions.

Some EU member states have exceptions to the common rules of the European Union. Denmark has agreed on several such exceptions, one of which was non-accession to the EUʼs common security and defence policy. For example, Denmark is the only EU country that has not adopted the euro on its territory and does not plan to do so in the future. However, after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Danish government decided to join the EUʼs common defence policy. In a referendum on June 1, more than 67% of the countryʼs population supported this decision.