Italy’s defence chief has signalled a potential return to voluntary military service, two decades after the country phased out conscription.
Speaking on Thursday, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said he intends to submit a draft bill to the cabinet and subsequently to parliament, citing the need to bolster national readiness amid evolving security risks, including concerns linked to Russia.
In an interview with broadcaster Tg3, Crosetto noted that Italy must “guarantee the country’s defence in the coming years,” stressing that any new framework would focus not only on personnel numbers but also on organisation and operational rules. He framed the proposal as part of a broader effort to modernise Italy’s defence posture in line with allied countries.
Crosetto described the envisioned model as comparable to systems being discussed or implemented in Germany and France. “It’s a scheme that in some ways isn’t very different from the German one, because it’s voluntary,” he said. “The German one is automatic, while the French one, from what I read, is totally voluntary.”
Addressing reporters in Paris, he reiterated that the measure under consideration would apply only to voluntary enlistment. Any reintroduction of military service, he affirmed, would stop short of reinstating compulsory conscription, which Italy abolished in January 2005.
