The Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has said the European countries should “absolutely” make military conscription mandatory.
Speaking to Sky News he said that the Europe is militarily “quite weak” and that European leaders must increase their defence spending due to the “ups and downs” of the US relationship.
In 2023 Latvia introduced military conscription and raised their defence spending to 4% of their gross domestic product (GDP).
Rinkevics said told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, “Seeing what is happening in the world, the decision that we took – many other European countries need to follow that.
“A lot of people are a little bit nervous. People are following the news.
“Of course, strong reassurances [are] one thing, but another thing is other European governments [have] to make sure that we all get stronger.”
He is calling for an increase in “the overall presence” of the countries which borders Russia due to the growing “risks.”
Read more related news:
General Dannatt warns Russia war threat rising and ‘we will all have to get involved’ to fight
Millions of Ukrainians face being conscripted into the Russian army who live in the occupied territories
All adult males in Poland will receive military training in preparation for war
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, “Europe does have to step up in terms of its own defence.”
He was asked if military conscription is being considered in the UK, McFadden said, “We’re not considering conscription, but, of course, we’ve announced a major increase in defence expenditure a couple of weeks ago, and we do have to recognise that the world has changed here.
“The phrase ‘step up’ is used a lot in recent weeks and Europe does have to step up in terms of its own defence.”
Last year Latvia’s Foreign Minister said in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph that NATO allies must consider a “total defence” model whereby a large amount of a “citizen army” can be called up a short notice. Latvia’s Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins said it was “inevitable” the UK will have no choice but to increase the defence spending to 3% of Britain’s GDP. Latvia calls up eligible men aged between 18 to 27-years old who must complete military basic training and must serve for 11 months.
The UK’s former NATO commander General Sir Richard Sherriff has said that it is now time to “think the unthinkable” and is urging the government to introduce conscription. He said that the UK has had years of defence cuts, and he is urging the government to “go further and look carefully at conscription.”
General Sir Richard who is the former deputy supreme allied commander said that the government’s current defence budget needs to be bigger. Speaking to Sky News the former top NATO commander said, “Conscription to most professional soldiers, and I count myself as one, is absolute anathema.
“Britain’s armed forces have traditionally and culturally relied on long service volunteer highly professional soldiers with huge experience – and that is really the way we would all want it to go on.”
The former Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders warned that in the event of a war with Russia British men and women will be called up to fight for the UK.
He said that the public should be “trained and equipped” to fight a war should NATO trigger Article 5 against Vladimir Putin. General Sir Richard added, “So there is a real threat to peace in the Euro-Atlantic region – and the way to preserve peace is deterrence, effective military deterrence, conventional and nuclear.
The former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague has said that British citizenship is “not a travel document” and the “blunt truth” is that the UK must create a 21st century national service. Lord William Hague has said that the UK must create a Scandinavian-style national service which comes as army chiefs have warned that the UK is not prepared for war.
Writing in The Times Lord Hague wrote, “The blunt truth is that the chances of getting through the next couple of decades without a dangerous world crisis are small.”
Lord Hague said that the old-fashioned ideas of national service are not seen “as compatible for our hyper-individualistic age.”
The former head of MI6 and several NATO countries are considering adopting the Swedish military conscription system. The former head of MI6 Sir Alex Younger has warned that the British “military industrial complex is shot” and the UK must take a “different approach” to our “reserve forces.”
However, Sir Alex warned in April last year that the UK has been “infantilised” since the Cold War ended.
Leave a Comment