Thousands of young Belgians receive an unusual offer when they turn 18: the "unique opportunity" to "voluntarily" join the army for a year and receive military training (with a salary aligned with that of a professional soldier). Upon completion, recruits will have the option to join the army or remain as reservists for 10 years. This is the same model that France now intends to emulate, following the path already taken by the Netherlands with the creation of the Voluntary Military Service (VMS), an initiative that is being replicated in a two-speed Europe in terms of Defense, divided by the conscription line.
While in countries like Spain, Portugal, or the United Kingdom, the implementation of voluntary conscription has not entered the political debate, in France, Germany, or Poland, it has become a hot issue against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the Russian threat. In Spain, there is the figure of the voluntary reservist, but it cannot be equated with the voluntary conscription that Paris intends to implement. The latest call for positions from the Ministry of Defense led by Margarita Robles in 2025 was for 400 positions for voluntary reservists, four times more than those called in 2018, but far from the numbers being considered in countries like Belgium, which invited 150,000 young people this year to do military service with a monthly salary of 2,000 euros.
In France, the new conscription that Emmanuel Macron will announce today aims to increase the number of active military personnel to over 200,000 soldiers and almost double the number of reservists to reach 80,000 by 2030. The goal, according to General Pierre Schill, Chief of Staff of the Army, is to "acquire the necessary mass" for the armed forces in the event of a war.
In Germany, the Government coalition led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also promoted a military volunteer model where all citizens over 18 years old must undergo a medical check-up and fill out a "suitability questionnaire for service." Germany plans to have the largest army in Europe in 10 years, with 260,000 soldiers and 200,000 reservists.
Denmark, where military service is still mandatory, also took a step further this year by announcing that women who turn 18 from July 1, 2025, must "register to participate in the Defense Day of 2026" (where a lottery will decide who should serve in the army if there are not enough volunteers).
Norway and Sweden have already taken this step, incorporating women into military service in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Finland, which shares a border with Russia, is another country where mandatory military service has been maintained (between six and 12 months), as well as Estonia (eight to 11 months), Greece (nine to 12 months), Cyprus (14 months), Switzerland (nine months), and Austria (six months). Lithuania reintroduced conscription in 2015, following the invasion of Crimea, and Latvia did the same in 2023, a year after the start of the war in Ukraine. Croatia has also reintroduced mandatory military service starting in 2026 after having abolished it upon its entry into NATO.
Poland has launched the largest program of "universal training for Defense" in its history, called En Guard. It is expected that around 235,000 men and women will be called for "military aptitude" tests next year. Bulgaria, which abolished mandatory conscription in 2007, reintroduced a voluntary recruitment plan this year, as did Romania, which announced that it will pay 8,300 euros to young people between 18 and 35 years old who enlist in the four-month voluntary military service.
In Italy, the League Party of Matteo Salvini presented a bill last year for a mandatory six-month military or civil service that is languishing in Parliament. Spain and Portugal have also remained on the sidelines of the debate on the reintroduction of conscription, as has the United Kingdom, where the words of the French Chief of Staff Fabien Mandon warning his compatriots to be "prepared to lose their children" have caused great concern.