Overview
- Nearly 149,000 letters were sent to 17-year-olds inviting applications for a one-year voluntary service starting with 500 recruits in September 2026.
- The Defence Ministry expects about 3,500 applications next year for the initial intake, which will be paid €2,000 net per month.
- Selected participants, aged 18 to 25, will perform surveillance and support duties across naval, air and land branches.
- The scheme, enabled by a law approved in September, plans to expand to 1,000 places in 2027 with a long‑term ceiling of up to 7,000.
- Officials stress participation is voluntary, while opposition parties and youth groups have launched the ‘Servicio por la Paz’ platform to protest what they call creeping militarization, with the debate sharpened by recent drone incidents at the Doel nuclear plant and Liège airport.