War hawks emerge: Baltic nations cry for war readiness, but only 2 million soldiers have been mustered

Europe continues to strengthen its military readiness, as the war in Ukraine remains in full swing with no immediate end in sight. This trend of reinstating military service in European states has gained greater significance recently, as governments strengthen their defense forces amidst the ongoing conflict with Russia. For example, last week, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, announced a new voluntary military service program for young people aged 18 and 19, aiming to gradually strengthen both active military service and reserves. This is part of the broader trend of reinstating compulsory military service in Europe.

Fear in Lithuania

This week, Lithuania announced that it will call up 5,000 conscripts in 2026, a number that constitutes a significant increase compared to previous years. A few years ago, Lithuania was the first EU country to reintroduce military service after the Ukraine crisis in 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea. The small Baltic country has also committed to allocating 5-6% of its GDP to defense by 2030, more than double the 2% threshold set by NATO. It is now expected to extend the conscription plan to be year-round from 2026. And Latvia was one of the first countries to reintroduce compulsory service due to fears that Russia might extend its military actions beyond Ukraine.

War readiness

Lithuania reintroduced military service in March 2015, after suspending it in 2008, becoming the first EU country to reverse the decision following Russia's occupation of Crimea, according to the US Library of Congress. Sweden followed in March 2017 with a gender-neutral military service system. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted Latvia to reintroduce military service in 2023, with compulsory service starting in January 2024. Croatia followed in October 2025, with the first conscripts expected in January 2026. This is also consistent with the pattern that the smaller countries of the Baltic and Northern Europe are some of the most vocal "hawkish" forces when it comes to Russia. However, overall, more and more European governments are scrambling to find the quickest and cheapest way to expand their military forces, in order to counter the "Russian threat." One European source states that strengthening military personnel—whether active or reserve—is increasingly seen as an "emergency reserve plan."

Increase in defense spending

"As defense budgets increase, governments are quietly developing the human backbone of their troops. It's not just about weapons and tanks. In 2024, EU member states spent a total record of 343 billion euros on defense (1.9% of GDP), and a large part of this expenditure went to personnel and readiness," Euractiv reports in a recent study. The report states that at a time when Washington seems to be pursuing a wait-and-see strategy regarding military support for Ukraine, Europeans are rushing to cover the potential shortage of military personnel in NATO in the future. "NATO currently has 3.44 million military personnel, according to the latest data. But if we remove the US from the calculation, the western military alliance is left with approximately 2.11 million active soldiers, of which barely 1.5 million belong to EU countries," Euractiv continues.

The forces by country

In the EU, 9 countries have compulsory military service: Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden. France and Germany recently followed the same path to bolster their reserves without returning to full compulsory service. Paris plans to introduce a 10-month voluntary national service program by 2026, while Berlin is openly considering a return to compulsory military service, after years of exclusion. However, the models vary significantly. In the Nordic countries, Sweden and Norway use selective, gender-neutral military service. They screen entire age groups but only call up the numbers they need, about 6,000-8,000 people per year, to avoid depleting their reserves. Denmark uses a hybrid lottery system. Defensively neutral Austria maintains traditional military service for men, but gives conscripts the option to participate in civilian volunteer activities instead of military ones. The report offers a useful map with charts on conscription systems in EU countries, according to data from The Military Balance 2025 by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). As for reserve programs, a system with part-time service members who are citizens and can be quickly mobilized if called upon, helps countries keep their defense expenditures low during peacetime. European countries are also trying to strengthen this sector of trained soldiers.

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