Denmark approves military deal allowing US bases on Danish soil

Denmark’s parliament has approved a defence agreement with the United States  that allows American forces to establish military bases on Danish soil.

The deal, passed on June 11, permits the United States to station troops at three airbases in Jutland — Aalborg, Karup, and Skrydstrup — and to set up their own military facilities at those locations. It also grants the US partial jurisdiction over its personnel in Denmark, including the possibility of allowing armed private security contractors to operate at the sites, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Initially signed with the Biden administration and announced in December 2023, the agreement was broadly supported in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, shifting dynamics in US-Danish relations, including renewed interest from President Donald Trump in Greenland and controversial US rhetoric about the Ukraine conflict, have intensified scrutiny of the deal.

“This is an agreement that creates areas in Denmark under American jurisdiction, where Danish authorities cannot exercise control and where prisoners could be mistreated,” said Red Green Alliance leader Pelle Dragsted, labelling the move a "massive betrayal of the Danish people."

The Red Green Alliance and the Alternative party voted against the agreement. The Socialist People’s Party (SF), which had earlier expressed reservations, ultimately supported the deal alongside the governing coalition.

Criticism has also come from human rights groups. Amnesty International and the Danish Institute for Human Rights warned that the agreement gives the US military excessive authority. 

“We fear that parliament does not fully understand what it has just agreed to,” said Paula Larrain, senior adviser at Amnesty International Denmark, in a statement to Danish news agency Ritzau.

“Several experts have pointed out that Denmark, through this ten-year, non-terminable agreement, is allowing US forces to exercise power on Danish soil,” she added.

The agreement will remain in force for ten years and is non-terminable during that period.

Public opinion on the issue remains divided. A Voxmeter poll conducted in March found that 41 percent of Danes supported the deal, while 33 per cent opposed it and 27 per cent were undecided.

By Sabina Mammadli