All for the country and for the pay

Russia's threats to its neighbours, but also the repeated invasion of others, such as Belgium itself, through constant harassment of its airports by swarms of drones, has fuelled the debate on both the need to rearm and the need for the civilian population to play a part in safeguarding national integrity.

All young Belgians about to turn 18, i.e. some 150,000 people, have begun to receive letters explaining all this, while urging them to voluntarily commit to joining the Armed Forces for a period of between ten weeks and one year to be trained in the use of weapons and combat, if necessary, against a foreign enemy.

The Belgian government, which describes the operation as a ‘social project’, rounds off the offer with the best possible incentive: a net monthly salary of €2,000 during this period. If extras such as meals and even barracks accommodation are added to this salary, it would be close to the average Belgian salary and around €500 above the minimum wage. The government hopes that this first batch of letters will enable it to recruit around 1,000 new volunteer soldiers, a contingent that could be expanded to 7,000 in successive waves.

The letter suggests that young people have a duty to contribute to the defence of their country, which, although it means voluntarily giving up their studies or work for the agreed period of time, also provides them with a new world view, including not only the acquisition of military skills, but also the possibility of other career horizons that the future recruit would probably not have considered. It is also understood that the new volunteer soldier would be imbued with military values, especially discipline, camaraderie and teamwork, the fundamental foundations of what was formerly known in all latitudes as love of country. In any case, the salary offer is likely to be the most attractive incentive in the eyes of potential candidates for volunteering.

Before Belgium, Germany, which had suspended compulsory military service in 2011, had already announced its plan to reintroduce it on a voluntary basis, with the ultimate aim of forming an armed force of 260,000 active soldiers, some 80,000 more than the Bundeswehr currently has. Similarly, Denmark has announced that it will introduce compulsory military service for women in 2026, who until now have been able to enlist as volunteers.

Thus, the perception is spreading within the EU that, however professionalised the army may be, it cannot be detached from the people and society it defends and to which it is accountable. And, of course, there is a widespread perception that perpetual peace does not exist, except after death, and that the next war, whatever its scale, is closer today than it was yesterday.

Alongside Belgium, Germany and Denmark, with their various forms of conscription, the EU members that maintain compulsory military service are: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Croatia, Greece and Cyprus. France is also about to reintroduce it, while in Spain there is not only no intention of re-establishing it, but there is not even a general debate in society about the threat that Russia may represent, although there is a growing perception that the possible threats of war for Spain come from its southern flank, especially the Sahel.

Outside the EU, but within Europe, Switzerland, Norway, Moldova and Turkey also have compulsory military service. And, for obvious reasons, Ukraine, which has been invaded and attacked.

This year, a YouGov poll identified Spain as the country whose inhabitants are most opposed to military service (58%). The United Kingdom and Italy are practically tied between those in favour and those against; in Germany, 58% of the population is in favour, while in France that favourable trend rises to 68%, all of them in any case below the Baltic and Nordic countries, where more than 80% of the population is in favour of rearming and of the civilian population joining the armed forces and preparing for combat.

In any case, there is a general conviction that the next war will not have much to do with the image projected by previous wars. Soldiers on a hypothetical front line would not be as necessary as the technological skills of their members. However, in addition to acquiring these skills from new soldiers, it will be essential to frame them within a common plan and discipline.