The final decision to bring back compulsory military service (conscription) in Serbia announced by President Aleksandar Vucic, will be made by the new government and the new parliament after a wider public debate, so in 2023 at the earliest, Serbia could have new military recruits.
The Serbian army leadership would initially put together several formats of compulsory military service, which differ in duration, resources, finances and organizational changes in the defense system, and after several studies, a decision would be made on whether a 90-day-conscription will be introduced.
Vecernje Novosti daily writes that it will be necessary to re-open garrisons and barracks that have since been sold or abandoned, as well as to improve military logistics.
The article also says that “the army is in trouble as it does not have enough personnel to train new soldiers, as the existing training centres are “tailor-made for a professional army.”
Some then predict an increase in “military spending” and add that, according to the calculations of the Ministry of Defence, the costs of conscription, i.e. the costs of training, food, clothing, transportation, etc., could amount to 8 billion dinars per year.
Out of 40 European countries, 14 have conscription – Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, which usually lasts between 6 and 12 months.
(Naslovi.net, 09.05.2022)
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