Croatia brings back mandatory military service next year

The reason is the increasingly complex security situation in Europe and the world

Croatia’s Defense Ministry announced that it will reintroduce mandatory military conscription for men starting on 1 January 2025. The new military service will be two months long.

This decision marks a return to conscription, which was suspended in 2008 when the country shifted to a volunteer-based system.

The reason cited by the country’s Defense Minister Ivan Anusic was the increasingly insecure geopolitical situation in Europe and the world. The idea had begun circulating after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Actually, before the start of the war in Ukraine, Croatia was one of the last countries to experience warfare in Europe, given its part in the Yugoslav Wars of the early 1990s. Thus, transitioning from this state to abolishing mandatory military service in only 13 years was quite impressive.

It seems, however, that times are changing, and the Croatians are feeling anxious. The Defense Minister, quoted by AP, also announced that in addition to the return of conscription, there will be modernization of equipment and an increase in the salaries of soldiers and officers in the regular army.

EU countries with military conscription

When the new military conscription becomes a fact, Croatia will become the fifth country in the European Union to impose this duty on part of its citizens.

The other countries that have compulsory military service are Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Austria. They have different models, however.

An interesting one is the model applied in Sweden, which also reintroduced conscription in 2017 following a seven-year break. It makes the only country in Europe to also apply conscription to females, even though not at the same rates as males.