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Croatia’s parliament has voted to reintroduce compulsory military service, a decision made on Friday by the European Union and NATO member state.
The move reflects heightened European tensions following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, alongside an apparent arms race and military buildup in the Balkans, a region scarred by 1990s conflict.
Lawmakers approved legal changes in an 84-11 vote, with 30 abstentions, in the 151-member parliament. The two-month service will provide “basic military training,” public broadcaster HRT reported.
This decision marks a return to conscription, which was suspended in 2008 when the country shifted to a volunteer system.
Croatia’s Defense Ministry said the aim is to teach young people basic skills and knowledge that are “needed in crisis situations, so they would contribute to national security.”
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Croatian troops participate in a military parade marking 30 years since a key war victory, in Zagreb, Croatia, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Authorities will start calling conscripts born in 2007 for medical checkups by the end of the year. Conscripts will receive a salary, and conscientious objectors can choose civilian service instead, the HRT report said.
Croatia has been boosting its armed forces at a time when many European countries fear that the war in Ukraine could spill over or that they could face an attack from Russia.
Croatia held a big military parade in July marking a major victory from the 1991-95 war that followed its independence from the former Yugoslavia. Relations with wartime foe Serbia have remained tense since the 1990s.
