Romania Prepares for War: Draft Bill for Voluntary Military Service

Romania prepares for war: the first step is the draft bill introducing voluntary military service. The decision was made after the Ministry of Defense asked for this from the Defense Commission in Parliament.

The draft law on introducing voluntary military training awaits approval from the Ministry of Finance. It could enter the debate of the Parliament in the current session, in emergency procedure. The voluntary military internship will be provided for women and men between the ages of 18 and 35 for four months, with financial incentives declared by the presidents of the parliamentary defence committees after the meeting with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff of the Army.

The decision comes in a particular context: allied forces simulate a scenario where Russia attacks Eastern Flanc during Steadfast 2024. Besides, Admiral Rob Bauer, NATO’s military committee chief, became the first NATO official to admit that the Western states were preparing for an all-out war with Russia.

Meanwhile, the head of the Defense Commission in the Parliament rejected the possibility of compulsory conscription in Romania.

I want to convey an essential message that emerged today from the discussions held by the two parliamentary defence committees within the Ministry of Defense. There is no reason to panic that Romania will be attacked. Maybe we are talking about concerns because we have a war on the border. No bill talks about mandatory military training, but about a bill that the Ministry of Defense is working on regarding voluntary military training or, as we say, voluntary military training. We will see the terms and conditions when this draft law receives all the opinions from the institutions that have to pronounce.

Senator Nicoleta Pauliuc

The draft law that the Ministry of Defense is working on regarding voluntary military training provides that it can be done by women and men between the ages of 18 and 35 for four months, and there would be specific incentives, such as three gross salaries at the end of these four months.

All these preparations for war must not make anyone think of an imminent attack. It’s rather the NATO allies’ intention of preparing to avoid what’s worse. Yet, Europe entered a war logic and try to adapt its economy to cope with the perspective of a conflict.