The Senate adopted, as a decision-making chamber, the draft law on military volunteering, which considers young people between 18 and 35 years old.
The Senate adopted on Wednesday, December 17, as a decision-making body, the draft law regulating military volunteering, with 79 votes “for” and one “against”, the next step being to send it to President Nicușor Dan for promulgation.
The normative act modifies and completes several provisions in the field of defense and establishes the legal framework for the voluntary performance of active military service in peacetime. In this sense, the law introduces a new concept, that of “soldier/voluntarily graduated within the term, in the structures of the Ministry of National Defense”.
Who can become a volunteer soldier
The new form of active military service is addressed to Romanian citizens, men and women, with permanent residence in Romania, aged between 18 and 35, who have not previously completed other forms of military service.
The basic military training program will have a duration of up to four months, during which the participants will benefit from free accommodation, equipment, food, medical assistance and medicine, as well as the other rights provided by law for the military during the term.
At the same time, they will be subject to the provisions of the laws and military regulations in force.
The volunteer period is paid
Citizens following the basic military training program will receive an allowance equivalent to three average gross salary earnings used in the foundation of the state social security budget for the year in which the payment is made. The compensation will be paid in equal monthly installments.
After completing the program, the volunteers will be taken into account by the military centers and will be entered into the operational reserve.
In the event that they do not complete the program, they will be obliged to return the allowance received, as well as the expenses incurred by the military institution with their training up to that point.
The organization and conduct of the training will be done within the limits of the funds allocated through the budget of the Ministry of National Defense.
Obligations in exceptional situations
The draft law also provides that, upon the establishment of the state of emergency or the state of siege, as well as the declaration of the state of mobilization or the state of war, the reservists will be mobilized and/or concentrated according to the needs of the institutions with attributions in the field of national defense and security.
Incorporable citizens, voluntary reservists and reservists have the obligation to present themselves at the place, date and time provided in the summons order. By way of exception, in the case of the establishment of a state of siege, mobilization or a state of war, eligible citizens and reservists residing in Romania, who are temporarily outside the country, will have to present themselves within a maximum of 15 calendar days from the date of the notification to the military centers in whose records they are, to clarify the military situation and, as the case may be, to receive the call-up order.
Also, voluntary reservists temporarily outside the country will have the obligation, in exceptional situations, to report to the structures of the institutions in the field of defense and national security in which they are assigned within the term stipulated in the contract, according to the provisions of Law no. 270/2015 regarding the Statute of voluntary reservists.
Last but not least, the draft establishes that enlisted and active duty soldiers are considered in service as military professionals, along with officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers.
