Defense Opt-Out - why it had to go

We at Volt will work for the EU to achieve strategic autonomy in the area of defence. We want our citizens to be able to influence the direction of our security policy through democratic processes, which is why we supported a YES vote in June 2022 when we voted to remove the defence opt-out.

When we removed the defence opt-out, we took a firm step towards a strong and strategically important Europe. We must be able to count on our European security being a priority for all Europeans in the future, because European democracies are on shaky ground as long as we cannot provide for our own security.

Europe has worked hard to build a peaceful continent scarred by the experience of the world wars, and for the same reason we have worked hard to build democracy, and now we must also be able to defend ourselves against external threats.

Europe's defence starts with a shared understanding of our challenges

Volt has a vision for Europe and we need political parties that are not afraid to talk about a future.

For Denmark, it's about peacekeeping missions, anti-piracy missions, solidarity with our European neighbours and, most of all, having influence on a fast-moving issue.

30 times our reservations prevented us from looking after our own interests, such as in 2008 when the EU took responsibility for security in the Horn of Africa off the coast of Somalia, but without Denmark.

Volt wants an Army of Europe, but it's not waiting around the corner

It would take at least 40 years from now to create an EU army, with the establishment and implementation in all member states of everything from a common command structure, doctrine, common supporting defence industry to political institutions that will exercise democratic mandate over this EU army.

All decisions made will therefore remain at the intergovernmental level for many years to come, but defence cooperation will continue in many other areas - including areas where Denmark has a strong interest in having a voice, such as in the defence industry.

By working together and working smarter together, we save money and strengthen our overall capabilities - here's an overview from the European Parliament.

France is often seen as the initiator of the EU army discussion, but defence cooperation is intergovernmental and no country can be forced to participate in something they don't want to. However, Denmark is one of the most militarily active countries in the world in terms of population. Our military expertise is in demand by all our allies.

To maintain our high operational level, we need to participate in military operations together with our partners. That's why Denmark went to the Sahel region at the invitation of France and the government of Mali to fight Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and Islamic State, but no one forced Denmark or the other countries - including Sweden, to go to the Horn of Africa on behalf of France.

NATO and strong European defence cooperation are completely compatible

NATO is a supplement to our defence, but it is not the only defence alliance that Denmark should be part of. We have seen how the US's internal challenges and the wishes of the electorate have influenced numerous presidents, most recently Donald Trump, whose announcement to withdraw the US from NATO sent shockwaves through our security structures, especially among our fellow Europeans closest to Russia.

We believe that Denmark must take the consequences of these announcements and strengthen the EU so that the European community becomes a stronger player that can safeguard our interests in Europe. We should not put all our defence eggs in the NATO basket and risk jeopardising our security with every presidential election on the other side of the Atlantic. There is no reason to do so.

Europe is in the midst of the biggest conflict on the continent since the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and then, as now, it is an insult to European values and our shared history that we as Europeans can do nothing.

As surprised as Europe was by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it was also, unfortunately, expected, according to US intelligence sources. (AP News)

So while we now see both Sweden and Finland on the fast-track to NATO membership, Russia's ongoing threats to our Scandinavian neighbours and the Baltic states, as well as its invasion of, and war crimes in, Ukraine, have highlighted the need for Europeans to protect themselves.

Volt Denmark also recognises our responsibility to our military partners: that we must strengthen our military capabilities to meet our allies' expectations in a mutually reliable and transparent cooperation, which is why we also support increasing our defence budget to 2% and keeping it at this level in the future.

And no, we will not need 2 armies....

There is only the Danish defence, just as we have not created a separate Danish NATO army, even after more than 70 years in the Alliance.

When we invest in our military and we reach the 2% of GDP in relation to our NATO commitments, it will also cover our European commitments. In other words, we should not invest in two different armies for two different organisations - it is the Danish defence that will be made capable of operating under both EU and NATO auspices.

At the same time, we must remember that cooperation in European defence remains voluntary. In other words, we do not HAVE to participate in EU missions if we do not want to or cannot.