Brussels Would Introduce Compulsory EU-wide Conscription

Mandatory conscription across the EU could be among the first issues to be discussed in the new EP set up after the European Parliament elections in June.

Brussels to decide for EU countries on conscription (Photo: Anadolu via AFP/Diego Herrera Carcedo)

Estonia has never abolished conscription. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas recently told the BBC that she believes conscription is "another integral part of both providing a deterrence to Russia but also stronger defence if it does attack".

We have a reserve army of 44,000 people that would equal, for Great Britain, around two million people. Two million people who are ready to defend their country and know what they have to do,

she said, adding that of course it is up to the UK to decide whether to introduce conscription, but she recommends it in many aspects. Among the European NATO members, conscription models are in place in Norway, Turkiye, Estonia, Lithuania, Sweden, Greece, Finland, Latvia and Denmark. In the Netherlands, men receive call-ups, but military service is voluntary for the time being.

Cover photo: Brussels to decide for EU countries on conscription (Photo: Anadolu via AFP/Diego Herrera Carcedo)