The Ministry of Defense of Croatia has proposed to the Croatian government the reinstatement of military training in secondary schools and the reintroduction of military conscription.

Vijesti reported on this.

The return of military conscription is linked to the more dangerous geopolitical situation in Europe and the Balkans. In addition, it is also linked to the country’s demographic crisis.

Military training in secondary schools can provide a better understanding of military affairs for young people. In addition, according to General Marinko Krešić, this decision is very important because of the decline in the country’s birth rate.

80 years ago, Croatia had 140 newborns a day, and today it has 34. We need to look at the geopolitical situation, security, and needs of the Croatian army,” said General Marinko Krešić.

It should be noted that the government generally looks at this from a positive perspective and considers it justified, given the geopolitical situation in the world, including Europe.

In addition, the Croatian population also responded positively to this proposal. Thus, according to polls conducted by the Vecernji List newspaper, out of 11,300 respondents, 70% (8,200 citizens) supported this initiative.

Looking at the European trend, it is evident that following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an increasing number of European countries are contemplating or actively working on the reintroduction of military conscription.

Militarnyi previously reported that Germany was debating reintroducing military conscription.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius urged Europe to take seriously the Russian threats to Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

In addition, the return of military conscription is being considered in Serbia. Defense Minister Miloš Vučević said that the General Staff had submitted an initiative to the President of Serbia, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to revoke the decision to suspend compulsory military service based on an assessment of the security situation.