MP calls for mandatory military service

Ex-PVV Member of Parliament Joram van Klaveren wants to re-introduce the mandatory military service law for males and females that would see youths participate in military service to keep them on the right track. Van Klaveren, now in the party ForNetherlands (VoorNederland, VNL) explained his proposal in the television show WNL Vandaag de Dag this morning. For 18-year-olds coming out of High School, the law would require them to be drafted into military training programs for six months. This plan would be introduced in phases over a period of eight years. In The Netherlands, military service has not been mandatory since 1996. For The Netherlands, it is not conscription that has been abolished, but compulsory attendance. There have been several attempts to re-instate drafting. In 2007, Mayor Job Cohen of Amsterdam pleaded for it, as did Dick Berlijn, then-Commander of the Armed Forces, a year later. Parliament has never been supportive of these proposals, so the chance that it will work for the VNL is unlikely. This is due in part to the fact that it will be a costly scheme. The VNL wants to spend €5 billion more on Defense. The re-introduction of military service will cost hundreds of millions more per year. For Van Klaveren, the scheme is mainly an attempt to improve social cohesion, and wants military service to bring problem youths back on the right track. The MP believes that every year, 60,000 youths can perform military service from the age of 18. In his plans, these youths will not necessarily be sent abroad on military missions.