Nearly half of people in Flanders are in favour of reintroducing Belgium's compulsory military service for 18-year-olds after secondary school, an online survey carried out by iVOX showed.
It has been almost 30 years since Belgium's last conscripts left. Until 5 February 1995, all healthy 18-year-old men were required to serve in the army for one year, so that they were prepared if a war broke out. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the question of whether conscription should be reintroduced has been surfacing again.
Just under half of Flemish people (47.3%) believe it would be a good idea if young people were obliged to serve in the army again. Slightly fewer people (46.9%) are against reintroducing the obligation.
The older and the more right-wing a person falls on the political spectrum, the less resistance there is to conscription: nearly 60% of people over 55 (the group that actively experienced conscription) are in favour of young people gaining some experience in the armed forces.
An extra burden
The younger population groups are not as enthusiastic: nearly seven in ten respondents under the age of 34 do not want to send 18-year-olds to the army.
Importantly, the Belgian Army is not asking for the reintroduction of compulsory military service either: the Defence Ministry made it clear that the tens of thousands of amateur cadets would be considered an additional burden for the army, as it does not have the personnel, weapons or money to train them.
Political parties in Flanders do not seem to be convinced of the idea: Christian-Democrat CD&V, liberal Open VLD, socialist Vooruit, ecologist Groen and radical left PVDA are resolutely against reintroducing the obligation. They argue that Belgium needs an army of well-trained professional soldiers who can work with the most advanced technology.
Most members of right-wing N-VA – including ex-Defence Ministers Steven Vandeput and Sander Loones – are not in favour of the idea either.
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All parties are in favour of voluntary community service (also called civilian service) for graduated 18-year-olds, not just in the army, but in a hospital, youth service, cultural centre or the green service if they prefer.
Only far-right Vlaams Belang takes this a step further. For them, civilian service should be mandatory for all people over the age of 18 to "stimulate the sense of solidarity and citizenship of the young generation."
The survey was carried out on behalf of DPG Media among 1,000 Flemish people, who are representative in terms of gender, age and education.
