Denmark plans to extend military conscription to women and increase national service from four months to 11 months.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a press conference on Wednesday that the country wanted “full equality between the sexes”.
“We do not rearm because we want war. We are rearming because we want to avoid it," Ms Frederiksen said.
Denmark currently has up to 9,000 professional troops on top of the 4,700 conscripts undergoing basic training, according to official figures.
The government wants to increase the number of conscripts by 300 to reach a total of 5,000.
The country is a member of Nato and a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen insisted that “Russia does not pose a threat to Denmark”, but added: “We will not bring ourselves to a place where they could come to do that.”
All physically fit men over the age of 18 are called up for military service, which lasts roughly four months.
However, because there are enough volunteers, there is a lottery system, meaning not all young men serve.
In 2023, there were 4,717 conscripts in Denmark. Women who volunteered for military service accounted for 25.1% of the cohort, according to official figures.
Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the new system would require a change in the law, which he said will happen in 2025 and take effect in 2026.
Ministers said the change was necessary because the international security situation "has become more and more serious”.
Under the plan, for which there likely is a majority in the Danish parliament, conscripts will first spend five months in basic training, followed by six months in operational service along with supplementary training.
In 2017, neighbouring Sweden introduced a military draft for both men and women, despite previously abolishing compulsory military service for men in 2010 because there were enough volunteers to meet its military needs.
Norway also introduced a law in 2013 applying military conscription to both sexes.
