Introduction
For several years, Europe has been facing increasing geopolitical tensions: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the rise in armed conflicts on the European Union's borders, and the growing rivalry between major powers, fueled by the USA.
These events are fostering a climate of genuine insecurity, which some politicians and international institutions are converting into a systematic discourse and concrete policy of militarization, instead of investing in a proactive and far less costly approach based on diplomacy, de-escalation, and cooperation.
Driven by the United States, the NATO member states committed in late June 2025 to allocate 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) to military spending. These are enormous sums that divert essential resources from urgent collective challenges: the explosive rise in inequality, growing livelihood insecurity for young people, and the increasingly severe effects of the climate crisis.
In a world where conflicts persist and our security and fundamental freedoms are at times genuinely threatened, a coherent European defense strategy is imperative. However, the pursuit of security must never become a blank check for unlimited military spending by EU member states. In this context, the culture of peace and international cooperation is losing ground to a militaristic vision of security that is now being presented as the only possible solution. Such a course is all the more concerning when it primarily targets young people:
a generation that is already vulnerable due to livelihood insecurity, inequality, and the climate crisis, and is now being encouraged to find purpose in military engagement, rather than strengthening civil-societal alternatives.
In opposition to this vision of the government, it is more necessary than ever to defend the culture of peace and diplomacy. This means remaining faithful to our duty of remembrance and reminding people that human security is built first and foremost through social justice, education, cooperation, and peace.
Context
In the Arizona coalition agreement, the federal government announced the introduction of a new "comprehensive security culture" that specifically targets young people. The planned measures include:
(1) the introduction of a voluntary military service of 12 months for young people from the age of 18, as well as the development of a military reserve of 5,000 soldiers;
(2) a stronger presence of the military in education through the deployment of military "reference persons" and an expansion in secondary schools of the course options for careers focused on security and defense,
(3) a strategic communication campaign explicitly aimed at "improving public perception of security and defense."
In this context, Minister Theo Francken plans to send a letter starting in November 2025 to 130,000 17-year-old Belgian and European residents of Belgium (who do not have voting rights at the federal and regional levels, but who will be given the opportunity to join the Belgian army), inviting them to register for the voluntary military service. Despite the limited number of available spots (initially 500, rising to 1,000 by 2027), the promise of a high salary (approximately €2,000 net) risks exploiting the livelihood insecurity of a segment of youth and making the militaristic discourse socially acceptable among a generation in search of purpose and socioeconomic stability.
The draft law "concerning the sending of an awareness-raising letter regarding the changed security situation" states that this letter will be sent by the Belgian army, which will thus gain access to the personal data (moreover, of minors) from the National Register. This is in violation of the Belgian Constitution.
The letter will be sent annually for the next ten years, with an evaluation after six years. The draft law frames the military service within the perspective of establishing a military reserve, without conducting a genuine public debate or providing pluralistic information. However, the proposal fails to mention that young people who perform voluntary military service will lose their student status and, for at least the duration of their service, will no longer be entitled to child benefits. They will no longer be considered dependents of their parents.
Action
We condemn the government's budgetary choices, which allocate massive funding to the military at the expense of fundamental social rights. Challenging the pension system, further flexibilizing labor, reducing investments in public services, and neglecting measures against global warming are all irresponsible decisions that undermine solidarity and social justice. These policy choices run counter to the values we defend: a society based on peace, social cohesion, and respect for rights.
We, politically progressive, trade union, and civil-societal youth organizations, express our concern about this gradual normalization of the militarist mentality in society, particularly among young people.
We condemn the instrumentalization of young people's social problems to promote a militaristic ideology at the expense of their emancipation as citizens and at the expense of other forms of sustainable and solidarity-based societal engagement.
Call
- We call on political, trade union, and civil-societal youth movements to take collective action to demand a transparent and contradictory public debate;
- We call on the authorities to guarantee that young people receive pluralistic information, particularly regarding civilian alternatives for engagement and the concrete implications of a military commitment in the short, medium, and long term;
- We call upon all young people and youth organizations to unite in defense of a societal model based on solidarity, peace, and democracy, and not on the logic of permanent militarization.