Image Credentials: Image Title: 🛡️ Europe Re-Arming: Conscription and Voluntary Service Make a Strong Comeback Source: (Gemini) Date: December 2025. Attribution: This image was created using AI-generated imagery (Gemini) and does not depict a real-world scene.
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
In a stark reversal of post-Cold War defense policy, Europe is rapidly moving away from its reliance on purely professional armed forces. Prompted by Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, compulsory and voluntary military service is experiencing a significant resurgence across the continent. This trend reflects a crucial reassessment of European security amidst the return of high-intensity warfare and Russia’s persistent hybrid warfare tactics.
The Return of the Draft
Beginning in the 1990s, most European nations phased out mandatory conscription. However, geopolitical realities on the EU’s doorstep have forced several countries to bring the draft back to ensure force readiness and expand reserve pools.
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Pioneers of Reinstatement: Lithuania was the first EU country to reintroduce compulsory conscription in 2015, followed by Sweden in 2017 and Latvia in 2024.
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Growing List: In October 2025, Croatia voted to reinstate mandatory military service starting in 2026, bringing the total count of EU countries with a compulsory draft to nine. The other countries with mandatory service are Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, and Greece.
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Gender Neutrality: The trend is also shifting towards gender equality in defense readiness. Norway extended its conscription to women in 2015, and Denmark followed suit in 2025. Sweden’s selective draft is also gender-neutral.
Many of the modern systems, particularly in the Nordic and Baltic states, employ a selective or lottery-based model, focusing on a small proportion of motivated and qualified young people rather than mandatory service for an entire age cohort. This allows for a credible mobilization plan without the cost and complexity of full-scale conscription.
Voluntary Service and Reserve Expansion
Even countries politically hesitant to reintroduce a mandatory draft are moving to bolster their personnel and reserves through new voluntary programs, with a focus on creating a larger, trained reserve force.
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Germany’s New Model: Reversing its 2011 suspension of conscription, Germany’s parliament has approved a plan for a new voluntary service starting in 2026. While service remains voluntary, all 18-year-old men will be required to complete a questionnaire on their skills and willingness to serve, with compulsory medical exams to follow. The goal is to recruit 20,000 volunteers annually and grow the active force and reserves to meet NATO commitments. The law explicitly retains the option to reintroduce compulsory conscription if volunteer targets are not met.
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France’s National Service Shift: Announced in November 2025, France is launching a new 10-month purely military voluntary program starting next summer. This new initiative replaces the earlier, non-military Service National Universel (SNU). The program aims to recruit 3,000 volunteers initially to strengthen the bond between the nation and its armed forces.
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Other Voluntary Programs: Countries including Belgium and Poland have also announced the launch or expansion of new voluntary services, with Poland aiming to train a large number of volunteers annually to expand its military reserves.
The strategic logic behind these moves is clear: increasing military preparedness and developing a ‘total defense’ concept that links military and civil society. As the French Chief of the Armed Forces warned earlier this year, France must be prepared “to accept the loss of its sons,” a sobering statement reflecting Europe’s accelerated shift toward viewing war readiness as an immediate necessity.
This video explores the reasons behind the reintroduction of military service across the continent: Why is military service making a comeback in Europe? | ARTE Europe Weekly.