If policy is approved, approximately 4,000 18-year-olds of both sexes could be called up each year

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Sweden plans to reintroduce compulsory military service from 2018, eight years after it was abolished.



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The Scandinavian country, which has not seen armed conflict on its territory in two centuries, ended conscription after it was deemed an unsatisfactory way of meeting the needs of a modern army.

“I hope that we are going to find a path to a more stable, robust and functional means of recruitment,” the defence minister, Peter Hultqvist, said.

The policy will affect Swedes born after 1999, according to a report by a former member of parliament for the defence ministry. The measure is expected to be adopted by parliament, subject to agreement between the leftist government and the centre-right opposition.

Approximately 4,000 18-year-olds of both sexes are expected to be called up each year.

The move was “an intelligent proposal given that we have seen for a number of years now that volunteers are not sufficient to supply either the quality or quantity of soldiers” needed, Johan Osterberg, a researcher from the School for Advanced Defence Studies, told the news agency TT.

Sweden is not a Nato member but has signed the organisation’s partnership for peace programme launched in 1994 to develop military cooperation between Nato and non-member countries.