Denmark has announced plans to extend military conscription to women for the first time and increase the standard service time.
It also wants to boost its defence budget by nearly $6bn (£4.6bn) in the next five years to meet Nato targets.
“We do not rearm because we want war. We are rearming because we want to avoid it,” said PM Metter Frederiksen.
Tensions in Europe have spiked since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Unveiling the reforms on Wednesday, Ms Frederiksen said the government was seeking to achieve “full equality between the sexes”.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said: “More robust conscription, including full gender equality, must contribute to solving defence challenges, national mobilisation and manning our armed forces.”
Women in the Scandinavian country can already volunteer for military service.
Now the government plans to introduce female conscription from 2026, making it only the third European nation – alongside Norway and Sweden – to require women to serve in the armed forces.
It also says the conscription service will be extended from four to 11 months for both men and women.