The government will use billions on Greenland's security – but the old agreement is far from being implemented.

Discussions for a new Arctic agreement, which will form part of the Fourth Defense Agreement, begin today. However, several elements of the government's proposal are capacities and objectives that have never been realized from the Arctic agreement (https://www.fmn.dk/globalassets/fmn/dokumenter/nyheder/2021/-aftale-om-en-arktis-kapacitetspakke-.pdf) that was signed four years ago in the previous defense agreement and between Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Denmark in 2022.

Read also: Donald Trump rules out the use of military force or increased tariffs in the question of Greenland (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/seneste/donald-trump-udelukker-ikke-brugen-af-militaermagt-eller-oegede-toldsatser-i)

This suggests little about how Denmark has approached the Arctic in the past few years, says Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen.

- We have spent many years discussing how we should organize the defense in the Arctic. Now is the time to act, he says.

In fact, most of the few parts of the four-year-old agreement are still far from being realized. For example, there is still no agreement on acquiring three of the most central capacities from the old agreement, which would strengthen monitoring capabilities and sovereignty enforcement in Greenland.

There is no order for the two long-range Arctic drones that were agreed upon.

No contract has been signed with a company that can deliver smaller drones to, among other things, the Navy's Arctic ships.

And no contract has been signed with a manufacturer who can ensure NATO and the Union with effective monitoring in the North Atlantic – the so-called GIUK gap – through a radar on the Faroe Islands.

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Unrealized military capacities from the 2021 Arctic Agreement

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Two long-range Arctic drones – no type selection has been made and therefore no purchase agreement has been signed

Radar on the Faroe Islands – no type selection has been made and therefore no agreement has been signed with either the supplier or the contractor. With the exception of the reservation, it is expected to be completed in 2029.

Smaller drones for, among other things, the Navy's Arctic ships – No purchase agreement has been signed with a supplier.

Coastal radars to monitor the most trafficked sea routes in Greenland – Expected to be implemented in 2027.

Source: Ministry of Defense, DR.

In fact, according to DR's information, only a small two-digit million dollar amount has been spent out of the 1.5 billion kroner that was agreed upon four years ago.

We have been slow to recognize our presence and capabilities in the Arctic, says Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen.

Therefore, at least Trump has some validity in some of his recent statements.

- Trump has indeed made a valid point in the sense that he is demanding that something be done in that area. Therefore, it is time to stop talking and start doing, says Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen.

Among new things in the government's proposal for the upcoming Arctic agreement, which DR has in its possession, the government is considering buying two additional long-range Arctic drones and building two new Arctic inspection ships as a replacement for the four aging and decommissioned Thetis ships (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/politikere-efter-nye-oplysninger-om-nedslidte-krigsskibe-vi-er-blevet-vildledt-i) that we currently have.

Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen, believes it is time to buy into the Arctic.

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Repeat items from the old agreement

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If you look at the Arctic Capacity Package, which was approved in the previous defense agreement in 2021, and compare it with the new proposal, there are several repeats.

In addition to the establishment of Arctic Basic Training, the sending of liaison officers to Canada and Norway, and the allocation of funds for research, there has been little significant progress in the strengthening of the Arctic from the agreement in 2021. Most of the few million dollars that have been allocated have been used for Arctic Basic Training, which began in 2024.

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The Defense in Greenland and the Faroe Islands today

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The Arctic Command solves a series of tasks in Greenland, including the military defense of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. These include the following capacities:

Sirius Patrol – right now there are six teams with two on each

Two inspection ships of the Thetis class

Two inspection vessels of the Knud Rasmussen class

An Challenger surveillance aircraft

Arctic Basic Training

Source: Defense

Arctic Basic Training is a basic training program where soldiers are trained in soldier skills and the solution of readiness tasks in Greenland.

Among repeats is satellite surveillance and communication, land-based censors, coastal radars, and a strengthening of the airport in Kangerlussuaq.

According to a document from the Ministry of Defense, which DR has in its possession, it is uncertain when the first two long-range drones, the radar on the Faroe Islands, and the smaller drones can be implemented in the Defense, because no producer has been selected or a purchase contract has been signed with suppliers yet.

The airport in Kangerlussuaq is expected to be renovated to strengthen the servicing of F-35 combat aircraft. (Photo: © Ralf Hirschberger, Ritzau Scanpix)

Peter Viggo Jakobsen, lecturer at the Defense Academy, is not surprised that it has not gone faster with the agreement to strengthen the Arctic part of the Union.

After all, it was only last year that money began to be poured into the Defense again after years of cuts.

- We began to seriously invest in the Defense only last year. So what we see with the lack of implementation of initiatives in the Arctic applies to the Defense as a whole. So yes, it has not gone particularly quickly, he says.

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Mette Frederiksen presented the plans for the first time in 2019

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The Arctic Agreement was first presented in February 2021 politically and later confirmed with Greenland and the Faroe Islands the following year.

It came after Donald Trump, as president of the United States, first raised the idea of buying Greenland under great controversy and just before a planned visit to Denmark, which was later canceled.

Read also: Trump Jr: 'We are just tourists' (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/seneste/trump-jr-vi-er-her-bare-som-turister)

But already in December 2019 – after Trump's canceled visit was supposed to have taken place - Mette Frederiksen said for the first time that the Defense would invest half a billion kroner in, among other things, increased monitoring of the waters and the air in Greenland.

And it was directly aimed at Donald Trump, sounded it from the prime minister.

- There is indeed something very important that we can now say to the Americans and others that we now prioritize our efforts in the Arctic, she said.

Here you can see TV Avisens news clip from 4. December 2019, where Mette Frederiksen speaks about defense investments in the Arctic for the first time.

But more than five years later, it is indeed difficult to show the Americans much, even though Trump now again talks about control and ownership over Greenland.

Therefore, Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen says that the agreements now need to be transformed into new ships, drones, and real content for the Union's northernmost regions.

- What is crucial is that Denmark clearly and in a way that looks convincing, even on Fox News, can show that we are in control of that area. That we can solve the military task, he says.

It has not been possible for DR to obtain an interview with Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V), who instead has sent a written response.

Here he acknowledges that Denmark has long neglected to invest sufficiently in the Arctic - therefore there is a need for a new agreement.

- In the government's proposal for the Arctic and North Atlantic defense agreement, some of the initiatives from the Arctic Capacity Package from 2021 are strengthened further, so that the capacities become more robust. This applies, among other things, to the acquisition of additional long-range drones, he says.

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