The other day, it became known that from January 1, 2027, Denmark plans to introduce mandatory military service for women, as well as increase the total number of conscripts. Compulsory service applies only to men over the age of 18. However, due to a sufficient number of volunteers, not all young people are drafted into the army. A lottery is even held among those willing to defend the country. Women also have the right to serve, but at will. Last year, they made up a quarter of the total number of 4,700 conscripts.
As reported by Danmarks Radio, the Liberal Alliance and the Danish Democrats opposed the draft of women. But in order to oblige women to serve in the army to be called up on an equal basis with men, the representatives of the majority of the political forces - the parties SF, De Konservative, De Radikale and Dansk Folkeparti - voted.
The innovation should enter into force after the next general election, scheduled for January 1, 2027. However, all parties agreed on the need to increase the annual number of conscripts to 7,500 and increase the term of military service from four to 11 months. It is assumed that basic training will last five months, and the next six conscripts will undergo operational service.
They plan to allocate 16 billion Danish kroner (over 2 billion euros) to the new prize model. And in general, the country invests a record 95 billion kroner (12 billion euros) in defense. If in 2023 Denmark spent about 1.4% of its gross domestic product on defense, then over the next five years it plans to increase its defense spending by 5.4 billion euros to reach the 2% target set by NATO, writes Politico.
"Tougher conscription, including full gender equality, should contribute to solving defense problems, national mobilization and staffing of our armed forces," Danish Defense Minister Troels Lunda Poulsen said at a press conference.
The Danish authorities explain that they are strengthening the armed forces not for the sake of war, but for the sake of peace.
"We are rearming in Denmark not because we want war, destruction or suffering. We are rearming now to avoid war in a world where the international order is being questioned," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.
And the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Lekke Rasmussen, noted that such steps are a form of deterrence.
"Although Russia does not pose a threat to Denmark, we will not put ourselves in a position where it can do so," he said.
Denmark became the third European country to introduce women's military service. Norway and Sweden did so in 2015 and 2017, respectively. It seems that the example of Israel's army, where women serve on an equal footing with men, will be followed by many countries now that the specter of World War III looms ever more clearly.
In Norway, the armed forces are recruited according to certain quotas, which allows the most motivated and qualified youth to join the army. Sweden also introduced a similar conscription system - due to the insufficient number of people willing to serve in the army under contract.
The government of the Netherlands also announced the possibility of organizing a draft based on certain quotas (following the model of Norway and Sweden). There is also a lack of people willing to serve in the army under a contract: currently there are as many as 9,000 vacancies in the armed forces of the Netherlands - about a quarter of the number provided by state.
Russian aggression against Ukraine forces primarily European countries to return mandatory military service by conscription. It has been preserved only in six EU member states: Austria, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Cyprus, Finland, as well as in Norway, Turkey and Switzerland, writes elperiodico.com.
Germany, Spain, Italy and France have already announced the possible resumption of military service. Conscription was abolished in these countries after the end of the Cold War, which is believed to have taken place in the early 1990s.
Conscription has already been resumed in Latvia. Mandatory military service was waived there in 2006, shortly after the Baltic country joined NATO. There are currently 7,500 military personnel in Latvia, in addition, another 1,500 soldiers of the North Atlantic Alliance are stationed. According to the government's calculations, after the resumption of conscription, the number of troops can be increased to more than 60,000 people. For this, men aged 18-27 will be conscripted into compulsory military service, and from 2028, it is possible that they will introduce temporary training for women as well.
"We must be in such a state of readiness that the Russian generals and the Russian political class clearly see that the European direction is hopeless," Latvian Foreign Minister Kristianis Karinsh said in a comment to The Telegraph.
According to him, now all men, including those who live abroad, have to undergo a year of military training.
"Whoever refuses to serve will be fined or imprisoned, although there are some exceptions, in particular for those with health problems, single parents and dual citizens who have already served abroad," the minister added.
The conscripts must receive a monthly salary of up to 300 euros, they will live in army barracks. They will be allowed to take leave for a maximum of one month.
But another Baltic country, Lithuania, partially returned the draft a few years ago: there a certain number of conscripts are chosen by lot.
It is hard to believe, but there are countries that do not have their own armed forces at all, and some do not update the army in peacetime.
"For example, Iceland, Haiti, Greenland and Costa Rica do not have their own army at all. There has never been a conscription in Saudi Arabia, but there is a contract army there. There is no conscription in India, South Africa and Japan. Refused to have a conscription army in peacetime, Canada and Australia. In Great Britain, conscription was introduced during the world wars, and the last conscripts were demobilized from the army in the 1960s," Army Inform reported.
The USA abolished conscription in the middle of the 20th century - after the war in Vietnam, but there all men between the ages of 18 and 26 must be registered in the Military Conscription System. Evaders face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In France, since 2001, the annual draft has been replaced by the National Defense Training Day, in which all men and women between the ages of 16 and 18 must participate. The current president, Emmanuel Macron, returned the draft of conscripts, explaining it by the urgent need to prepare a mobilization resource in conditions of hybrid aggression.
In Austria and Switzerland, the issue of conscription in 2013 was put to a referendum, and the majority of Austrians and Swiss spoke in favor of maintaining conscription. In Switzerland, men serve from the age of 20 for a period of 18 to 21 weeks. After completing mandatory service, citizens under 34 years of age (officers under 50) are kept in reserve, they must periodically undergo military training lasting up to 21 days. A total of 300 days must be served (600 for officers).
In China, people between the ages of 18 and 22 are conscripted into the army for two years. Those who have served remain in the reserve until the age of 45. Evaders face a heavy fine or a correctional labor camp.
In South Korea, men between the ages of 18 and 31 serve 24 months. Students are given deferments, and the only possibility to completely avoid the draft is medical contraindications. Failure to fulfill this obligation is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Almost all Latin American countries have mandatory military service. In Peru and Chile, soldiers are recruited voluntarily, and in Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil - through full-scale conscription.
All men between the ages of 19 and 40 must serve in Turkey. Citizens without a higher education are trained in the army for 12 months as privates, and university graduates - 12 months as officers or 6 months as privates. Petitioners face up to 10 years in prison.
Halyna Hirak