Volunteer army reserve could strengthen defence, says Backes

Building up an volunteer army reserve and giving options for young people to do short-term placements with Luxembourg’s armed forces are proposals which could help strengthen the country’s military capabilities, defence minister Yuriko Backes said on Monday.

The minister ruled out the prospect of compulsory military service in an interview with RTL, following the publication of a petition against such an obligation on Friday, but floated other options for strengthening the country’s armed forces.

Asked about a proposal for a voluntary army reserve, which has received the backing of Luxembourg’s police and army union, Backes stressed that “no one should be forced to take part” but added: “I also have discussions with young people who say that if there was a programme where I could participate as a young person in such a ‘stage militaire’ for three or six months, I would very much like to do it. I think this is a very positive reflection of our youth.”

Backes refused to be drawn on a timeframe in which a volunteer reserve could be developed, adding that the army has no capacity to implement such a proposal at present.

Luxembourg’s defence minister claimed that comments she made back in June, when she said that a debate about compulsory military service in Luxembourg was “inevitable”, had been misunderstood.

“It was very clear to me that I have no mandate, and neither I nor the government are thinking about introducing compulsory military service,” she said on Monday.

Discussions about compulsory military service, which Luxembourg scrapped in 1967, have resurfaced since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, prompting many Western countries to assess their own combat readiness.

Luxembourg is set to increase spending on its military by 13% this year compared to 2023, Backes annouced in March. The total defence budget of almost €700 million is equivalent to around 1.3% of Gross National Income (GNI).

By 2030, Luxembourg has pledged to increase defence spending to 2% of GNI. The country has an opt-out from a Nato target, mandating nations to aim to spend 2% of GDP on defence, as the GNI figure does not include the income contribution of cross-border workers.