Croatia reintroduces military service as fears of war spilling over from Ukraine rise

Published on 24/10/2025 - 19:20 GMT+2

Croatia's parliament voted to reintroduce compulsory subject work connected Friday against a backdrop of heightened tensions successful Europe pursuing Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine.

Lawmakers approved ineligible changes successful a 84-11 ballot and pinch 30 abstentions successful nan 151-member parliament.

The service work will past 2 months and supply "basic subject training," nationalist broadcaster HRT said.

This determination marks a return to conscription, which was suspended successful 2008 erstwhile nan state shifted to a unpaid system.

Croatia's Defence Ministry said nan purpose is to thatch young group basal skills and knowledge that are "needed successful situation situations, truthful they would lend to nationalist security."

Authorities will commencement calling conscripts calved successful 2007 for aesculapian checkups by nan extremity of nan year.

Conscripts will person a salary, and conscientious objectors tin take civilian work instead, nan HRT study said.

Croatia has been boosting its equipped forces astatine a clip erstwhile galore European countries are presently discussing aliases reforming their subject work policies.

Rethinking conscription

In nan aftermath of Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine, nan statement complete compulsory subject work has resurfaced crossed nan continent, pinch galore countries reconsidering whether conscription could bolster their nationalist security.

In 2015, Lithuania partially reintroduced it and Norway became nan first European state to present compulsory subject work for women.

Two years later, Sweden reimposed nan draft. France began trailing its newly-reintroduced nationalist service, known arsenic nan SNU, successful 2019.

In January, French President Emmanuel Macron urged young volunteers to "reinforce" service ranks successful an reside to French subject personnel.

While successful April, Belgium's Minister of Defence, Theo Francken, said he wanted to summation nan number of nan country's reservists from astir 6,600 to 20,000 and to do truthful hoped to enlistee young group to voluntary subject service.

That follows a akin inaugural precocious announced successful nan Netherlands.

And successful August, Germany's authorities approved a measure proposing a caller rule aimed astatine promoting voluntary recruitment.

"A beardown service - successful position of unit and instrumentality - is nan astir effective intends of preventing wars," Defence Minister Boris Pistorious explained.