Croatia to reinstate mandatory military service from 2025
1 June 2024 13:33
Croatia aims to join the top ten European countries that conscript all able-bodied adult men into military service. The plan for mandatory military service was conceived in Zagreb immediately after the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Now, the project is materializing.
“The first steps towards beginning the implementation of the return to mandatory military service will be taken already on 1 January 2025,” announced Ivan Anuszić, Croatia's Defence Minister. According to the Croatian portal sjeverni.info, this is the first official confirmation specifying the date for reinstating regulations suspended over a dozen years ago.
“In 2008, we ended mandatory military service, and since then, all infrastructure and personnel working with conscripts have disappeared. We potentially have 18,000 young men yearly who would like to join,” the minister stated, adding that this is neither a small nor cheap operation.
The authorities announced the decision during the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the founding of the Croatian army. Ivan Anuszić confirmed the start of work on reinstating mandatory military training for citizens in a brief conversation with state television HRT.
When the conscription initiative starts in Croatia, the country will join nine European Union countries where citizens fit for service join the army without being professional soldiers. Mandatory training exists in nine EU countries: Cyprus, Greece, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.
Some countries, including Estonia, Finland, Austria, and non-EU members Norway and Switzerland, have never abolished mandatory military service.
Croatians will go to the army. Citizens will appear before military commissions from 1 January 2025
In the 2013 referendum, the Swiss overwhelmingly rejected the abolition of military conscription. Military service lasts 18 weeks for basic training and 22 weeks for officers.
Sweden, which recently joined NATO, breaking a long-term policy of neutrality, suspended conscription in 2010 but reinstated it seven years later after Russia annexed Crimea. Only 5 to 10 per cent of the most physically fit men and women join the army each year.
Similarly, Norway introduced mandatory military service for women in 2015, becoming the first European country and the first NATO member to do so. The service lasts 12 months and is considered highly prestigious.
Latvia reinstated mandatory conscription in 2023 after abolishing it in 2007. Service is mandatory for all men aged 18 to 27 and lasts 11 months.
Austria never gave up such an army. Men aged 18 to 35 are conscripted for six months of military or civilian service (Zivildiensterklärung). In Greece, people aged 19-45 serve. Alternatively, one may complete 15 months of civilian service.
No country currently has mandatory military service in the unstable region of Southeastern Europe, but Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has announced changes, likely influencing Croatia's moves. Discussions are ongoing in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany.
Local media in Croatia, which have been reporting on the project for many months, say training will last at least three months, and conscripts will receive a salary of approximately £600.
In Poland, the last conscription took place in 2008. Two years later, the authorities decided to suspend mandatory military service. An event with false information that appeared in PAP confirmed that Ministry of Defence representatives have no plans to reinstate mandatory service.
