Danish PM says 2035 can be too late for Europe's rearmament

According to Ukrinform, she stated this at a public event attended by Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, The Guardian reports.

Frederiksen said that "the world order as we know it is over and I don’t think it will return."

She also stressed that "Russia does not want peace with Europe," urging the EU and the United States to "stick together."

Commenting on recent tensions with the United States over Greenland, Frederiksen noted that both sides share concerns about security in the Arctic and will "try to find a way forward with US."

Asked about comments by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte regarding Europe's ability to defend itself, she said this would be "extremely difficult" given the current state of affairs.

Frederiksen pointed out that "when you look at intelligence, nuclear weapons, and so on, we depend on the US." However, she believes that "we’re able to do more than what is being said publicly right now."

She also emphasized that Europe's rearmament must be "the most important thing" for European leaders, adding that 2035 is a "too late" deadline for this goal.

As Ukrinform previously reported, it became known on Tuesday that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen would visit Berlin and Paris to seek support amid recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the Arctic island.

In June 2025, in the final declaration of the NATO summit, heads of state and government, in light of security threats caused by Russian aggression, agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.

Allies agreed that this 5% commitment would consist of two major categories of defense investment. In particular, allies will allocate at least 3.5% of GDP annually, based on NATO-defined spending, by 2035 to fund core defense expenditures and to meet NATO capability targets. At the same time, allies agreed to draw up annual plans for the phased achievement of this goal.

Photo: Statsministeriet / Kristoffer Jonsson