According to the proposal of the president of the European People's Party, conscription would be extended to the entire continent. This issue will be among the first topics to be discussed in the new EP that will be formed after the June elections.
Manfred Weber, the president of the European People's Party, stated in an election interview that he believes the introduction of conscription is a necessary step and supports the introduction of general compulsory service.
At the party congress of the party alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), they voted to put compulsory military service back on the agenda and promised to reintroduce it as soon as they regain power in Berlin.
He emphasized that European leaders gave wrong answers to the war in Ukraine.
V4NA has learned from sources in Brussels that Manfred Weber's goal is that the new EP that will be formed after the European Parliament elections will be among the first to discuss the EU's mandatory military service.
The two leading politicians of the CDU and the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) both believe that compulsory military service for young men only is age-appropriate and are asking that it also apply to women. Until now, women served voluntarily in the Bundeswehr.
This must change, according to Schleswig-Holstein state premier Daniel Günther (CDU) and Bundestag defense commissioner Eva Högl (SPD).
Just as in Israel, Norway, Sweden and soon Denmark, so too in Germany women can be included in the army.
In Germany, the debate on the reintroduction of compulsory military service has accelerated since Defense Minister Boris Pistorius spoke about it at the beginning of May at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.
German supporters of compulsory military service particularly like the Swedish model, which is originally based on voluntary service. According to the model, all 18-year-olds must fill out an online questionnaire and, among other things, provide information about their health status. If there are not enough volunteers, this model also allows for conscription.
Conscription was compulsory in Germany until 2011, when it was abolished voluntary military service remained. However, the German armed forces have been reduced to such an extent in recent years that tens of thousands of soldiers are currently missing from the army.
The Bundeswehr currently has around 180,000 soldiers, and according to plans, the number will be increased to over 200,000 again by 2031.
Compulsory military service is in force in nine countries in Europe. After Norway and Sweden, Denmark is the third country in Europe where female conscription has already been introduced. Norway did this in 2015 and Sweden in 2017.
In Belgium, military career opportunities and requirements are generally the same for women and men. The highest female military rank is lieutenant colonel. Currently, all positions are open to women, with the exception of combat positions.
In Denmark, the parliament passed a law in 1962 that allowed women to join the army on a voluntary basis, but they could not serve in combat units. The Equal Opportunities Act of 1978 allowed women to serve in combat roles.
A few years later, all firearms were opened to women.
In Britain, many positions were opened to women from the early 1990s, such as naval service on warships and in the air force. In 1998, the army increased the percentage of positions open to women from 47 to 70 percent.
1,100 British female soldiers served in various positions in the Gulf War.
The situation of Dutch female soldiers was directly affected by two parliamentary decisions in 1971 and 1979. The 1979 law created a legal status equal to that of men.
This means that men and women enter the army under the same conditions.
As part of the integration of women into the military, measures were adopted in 1988 to ensure women's conscription, job selection, training, and the granting of maternity and childcare leave.
At the same time, the Hungarian Nation also draws attention to the fact that conscription is not the same as conscription, which also applies to countries where there is currently no mandatory military service.
Cover image: Manfred Weber, group leader of the European People's Party (EPP)
Source: MTI/EPA/Olivier Hoslet
