Military Service Reform: NEOS Ask for Patience, Models 6+2 to 8+2

Position of the Military Service Commission

The chairman of the military service commission, Lieutenant General Hameseder, who is also the federal government's militia commissioner, expressed continued dissatisfaction with the pace in the "Kurier". "I am still highly dissatisfied that there is no decision," he said. At the same time, he recalled the security situation: "So that our soldiers are operational on the modern battlefield, we cannot get by with six months of training and two months of exercises."

According to Hameseder, the commission recommends the "Austria PLUS" model with eight months of basic military service, two months of militia exercises, and at least twelve months of civilian service. Should this "8+2" model not be enforceable "for whatever political-ideological reasons," the commission has recommended a "stepped model" as an alternative, namely six months plus 100 days. "An absolute zero model for me is '6 + 2'," Hameseder continued, and: "That is a zero solution that worked 20 years ago."

Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker had previously brought a "6+3 model" into play, namely six months of military service plus three months of militia exercises. This brought the ÖVP at least partway toward the SPÖ, which demands a 6+2 model. Shetty expressed himself "to a certain extent hopeful" regarding a fundamental agreement by the summer, because Stocker had announced one. "The good news: They are advanced," said Shetty. "But there is simply nothing ready for a decision yet at the moment."

Reactions from the Parties

Shetty also indicated that a mixed model was being considered. If the number of volunteers should not be reached, one would then make the "delta" obligated to military service, said the parliamentary group leader. This would mean that the NEOS model would in fact contain elements of conscription, but only after a voluntary phase.

Criticism of the NEOS came on Saturday from the Greens. Vice parliamentary group leader Sigrid Maurer spoke of a "squabble around military service reform" and said that this was meanwhile not an isolated case, but rather a "symptom of an incapable of acting government". Federal Chancellor Stocker had announced at the beginning of the week that the reform would be brought to a swift conclusion: "That is why we will now also bring this to a swift end."