(Adnkronos) – Austria will hold a referendum on the extension of compulsory military service. This was announced by Chancellor Christian Stocker, specifying that the outcome of the consultation will be “binding for political parties and the government”.
The proposal comes after a committee of experts last week recommended extending compulsory military service from six to eight months, alongside two additional months of reserve training. According to the committee’s chairman, Erwin Hameseder, current geopolitical tensions make a strengthening of defense capabilities inevitable.
Austria is not part of NATO and, according to defense experts, its armed forces suffer from significant shortcomings. The country has a professional army supported by a reserve force, totaling about 50,000 men who can be called up in case of crisis. Unlike many Western European countries that have abolished conscription, Austria maintains compulsory military service for all men aged 18 and over, with the option of choosing civilian service as an alternative.
