Denmark has quit the so-called Frugal Four to embrace instead a “more flexible” attitude towards the European Union’s seven-year budget, the country’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has said, insisting the imperative goal of rearming the bloc against Russia should take precedence over “all other priorities”.

“As Danes, we will always be tough in the negotiations on the budget. We don’t want money to be spent on (anything) that is not necessary for Europe. So we will be tough, but being a part of the Frugal Four is no longer the right place for us,” Frederiksen said on Tuesday, speaking next to Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament.