If war breaks out in Denmark, the Danish Armed Forces can easily take over a citizen's property against full compensation.
But the same is not the case when it comes to properties belonging to, for example, companies, organizations, public authorities and associations.
This must now be changed if it is up to the Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen (V).
He has submitted a bill that, with a simple rewording, will make it possible for the Danish Armed Forces to expropriate "anyone" rather than just "citizens" according to rules set by the Minister of Defense.
Because it is "inappropriate" that in the "most serious scenarios, the Danish Armed Forces are only guaranteed the opportunity to dispose of citizens' property", according to the comments to the bill.
For example, it is mentioned here that schools, sports halls and warehouses may be necessary for The Defence, if there should be a need to "move large concentrations of personnel and equipment to strategically relevant areas in the country".
"Extraordinary circumstances"
Ports and airports are also mentioned as properties that may be of "decisive importance" for the Defence in the event of war or "other extraordinary circumstances", which should also give the right to expropriate.
However, the lawyers of the Ministry of Defence are not precise about what other extraordinary circumstances cover.
There is no "clear and unambiguous definition". But "generally" the ministry defines the concept as "circumstances where the state's freedom of action and security are threatened, without there being an actual war".
Rasmus Dahlberg, an associate professor of societal security at Roskilde University, notes the loose formulation of "extraordinary circumstances".
- The problem is that it is really difficult to define. With the law, you want to give a basis that is broad enough to handle any situation you may find yourself in, but at the same time narrow enough that it can actually be used.
In this way, the government is trying to strike a balance in a time when war can unfold in new ways, assesses Rasmus Dahlberg, citing hybrid war as an example.
- Hybrid war is asymmetrical. Russia can wage hybrid war against us, while we do not do it with them. This means that we are forced to handle war-like situations with peacetime legislation.
Due diligence
Rasmus Dahlberg generally sees the bill as due diligence, after the Danish Civil Defence disappeared in the 1990s.
- This is a return to some Cold War command control.
- If the Defence needs accommodation for 2000 American soldiers who are going to transit through Denmark, it will be of no use for the local municipality to say no. Then the Minister of Defense can say that "I need the three schools, and it's right now" with the law in hand, says Rasmus Dahlberg.
The possibility of accommodating "foreign aid contributions" in, for example, schools and sports halls is also mentioned in the bill.
The bill will be first read in the Folketingshallen on February 27.
/ritzau/
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