The Ministry of Defense excludes the possibility of compulsory military service, but there is a concern about voluntary military service, the Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, said on Monday, writes Agerpres.
Romanian army soldier PHOTO: Shutterstock
“Compulsory military service is excluded. There is currently no discussion about this. Regarding the voluntary military service (…) there is a need for a reserve, every army poses the problem of the reserve. There was a time when, on a contractual basis, receiving 30% of the salary, two weeks a year there was a certain training and there was a selection and a competition in which this reserve was ensured. At the moment, there is a concern at the level of the ministry for this voluntary military service, which comes to satisfy the need for a reserve, because in any country in this world there is also this concern, to ensure the reserve of the army”Tîlvăr told Euronews.
Tîlvăr recalled that there is a project regarding a military internship of several months, for people between the ages of 18 and 35, who will receive a bonus at the end. The purpose of this project is to achieve “a reserve”the minister specified.
“The Romanian army went from over 320,000 men, it reached the situation of having around 80 (thousands – no), about 75,000 soldiers, about 14,000 or 15,000 contractual personnel and I think 407 or 408 civil servants. So, from a numerical point of view, the army has decreased and categorically, the operational needs are what they are, they are also motivated by the situation we are in, because it is a situation that has not been in Europe for a very long time”added the minister.
He wanted to emphasize that Romania “not in danger of war, not in danger of being attacked”.
“This does not mean that a state like Romania, a serious state, a member of an important political-military alliance, the most important in the history of mankind, should not be in agreement and in line with what is happening in other armies from this point of sight”, Tîlvar completed.
The minister emphasized that last year, almost 7,000 employees left the system. “This has to be compensated somehow”stated Angel Tîlvăr.
