Mette Frederiksen’s Folketing speech has set out a broad agenda for Denmark’s new parliamentary year, combining lower taxes and measures aimed at easing living costs with stronger defence, civil preparedness and protection against hybrid threats.
Speaking at the opening of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) on 6 October, the prime minister used her annual opening address to outline the priorities of her third government, formed in June.
Many of the headline measures remain political proposals. The speech itself does not make them law, and several will require legislation and parliamentary approval. Other parts of the security agenda build on measures that have already been adopted.
Lower food taxes and a corporate tax cut
The most immediate economic proposal concerns food prices. Frederiksen said the government wants to halve VAT on food and remove it entirely from fruit and vegetables, a major change to Denmark’s tax system.
The proposal develops an idea that Frederiksen had already raised earlier this year, when the government was considering either a general reduction in food VAT or eliminating it on fruit and vegetables. The opening speech committed the government to pursuing both.
The measures are intended to reduce pressure on household budgets after several years of higher food and energy prices. Frederiksen also announced plans to give the lowest-income pensioners an additional DKK 1,000 (€134) per month.
More details are expected in the government’s 2027 finance bill proposal, due to be presented on Friday, 9 October. Frederiksen said the government had previously committed to expanding its fiscal room for manoeuvre by at least DKK 19 billion (€2.54 billion) by 2030 and would identify almost DKK 13 billion (€1.74 billion) of that amount in the new budget proposal.
Businesses are also part of the tax agenda. The government wants to reduce corporate tax by three percentage points over three years, while introducing a new entrepreneurship package and measures intended to make it easier for companies to attract risk capital.
Frederiksen linked the proposals to concern over Europe’s competitiveness, arguing that investment and research are increasingly moving elsewhere, particularly to the USA and China. The government also wants to reduce the administrative burden on Danish companies by 25% by 2035 and increase investment in research and life sciences.
Security and civil preparedness move to the centre
Security occupied another substantial part of the Folketing speech.
Frederiksen presented Russia as the main external threat to Denmark and Europe and referred to the latest assessment by the Danish Defence Intelligence Service, which expects Russia to intensify its hybrid campaign against NATO and Western countries.
The government intends to continue strengthening Denmark’s military capabilities, including air defence, long-range precision weapons, drones and additional conscripts. Frederiksen also emphasised closer operational cooperation with the other Nordic countries and stronger security in the Arctic and North Atlantic together with Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Denmark’s allies.
Civil resilience is becoming part of the same strategy. The government wants to establish a broader national preparedness system against cyberattacks, sabotage and disruption to critical infrastructure, including water supplies, telecommunications, healthcare and transport.
Frederiksen explicitly referred to the recent compromise of Denmark’s central civil registration system, known as the CPR register, as an example of the vulnerabilities the country must address.
The speech nevertheless mixed new proposals with measures already in force. Frederiksen noted, for example, that Parliament has already adopted an expulsion reform and that Denmark has already begun strengthening its defence and emergency preparedness.
Climate, welfare and social policy
The opening agenda extended well beyond taxes and security.
The government plans to raise Denmark’s climate target for 2035 and continue the shift towards domestically produced renewable electricity, which Frederiksen presented as both a climate policy and a way to reduce Europe’s strategic dependence on external energy suppliers.
The government also intends to propose a ban on conversion therapy targeting children and young people, covering attempts to force people to deny or change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Other proposals include measures to expand affordable housing, additional support for schools and child and adolescent psychiatry, stronger regulation of social media and technology companies, and a longer-term ambition to extend free dental care.
Frederiksen also announced a new approach to regional development, giving municipalities greater freedom to overcome national regulatory barriers when pursuing local projects, particularly in rural and peripheral areas.
Taken together, the speech outlines the political terrain for the first full parliamentary year of Frederiksen’s third government: more intervention to support household purchasing power, lower taxes for consumers and companies, continued investment in welfare and climate policy, and a security agenda increasingly shaped by military threats, cyber risks and the need for greater European resilience.
The first test will come with the 2027 finance bill proposal on 9 October, which should show how much of the agenda already has concrete financing behind it and which proposals will require further negotiations in Parliament.
