government Belgium Shipping started last Friday 149,000 letters mailed to all 17-year-olds from the country informing them of the possibility of performing voluntary military service for one year in 2026, with a net salary of 2,000 euros per month.
This was announced by Belgian Defense Minister Theo Franken, who belongs to the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, last Saturday, in a message on the social networking site It encourages All those who have reached the age of 17 in the country must join the armed forces in general and participate in voluntary military service One year particularly”.
The Belgian administration plan, which it presented in February this year, responds to “the need for new employees in the Ministry of Defence,” as confirmed by the minister, who explained that “There’s a lot of new equipment arriving” that needs staffingIn a context in which the country agreed Increase defense spending by up to 2% of GDPTo reach the goal set by NATO.
Volunteer service will begin on September 2026 with Military training for 500 men and women between the ages of 18 and 25who will receive a net salary of 2,000 euros per month, although it is planned to increase the available places to 1,000 by 2027 and gradually increase the number until it reaches a maximum of 7,000.
The young recruits will be responsible for surveillance duties in both the naval, air and land forces.
In addition to the annual volunteer service, the Ministry will organize information courses throughout the year in all governorates of the country.
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In response to sending numerous messages Youth associations and movements From all parts of the country they announced their decision to mobilize against this voluntary military service by establishing “Service for Peace” platform.The Belgian agency indicated.
The youth branches of several unions are afraid of the rewards offered by the Ministry of Defense “The precarious situation of young people can be taken advantage of And make military rhetoric socially acceptable to a generation seeking social and economic stability.
Its aim is to express shared concern about the “gradual normalization” of militarization among young people and to condemn the “exploitation” of a generation “already weakened by instability, inequality and the climate emergency.”
With this measure, Belgium restores the offer of general military service to the population, Three decades after its compulsory form was suspended in 1993although on this occasion young people will decide to participate voluntarily.
Thus, the country reactivates A The procedure has already been implemented in 16 European countries (10 from the European Union), including the recently integrated Germany, which will implement compulsory recruitment by lottery from 2026.
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