Zagreb, 24 October 2025 (Hina/MIA) - The Croatian parliament has approved amendments to the Defense Act reinstating mandatory basic military training with 84 votes in favor, 30 abstentions and 11 against.

The two-month training will begin next year, with the first call-ups issued by year-end and recruits expected at barracks in Knin, Slunj and Požega in early 2026.

All 18-year-old men will be registered for military service and called up in the year they turn 19, following a medical exam to determine fitness. Training may be deferred for students and athletes competing internationally, while those up to age 30 remain eligible.

Conscientious objectors citing moral or religious grounds will serve in civil protection or local community roles for three to four months instead. Military trainees will receive €1,100 per month, with the period counting toward employment tenure; compensation for civilian service will be lower, set by a regulation.

Women are exempt from conscription but may volunteer for basic training, a prerequisite for joining active service or the reserve force.

Exemptions apply to men deemed unfit, military cadets under contract, dual nationals who have completed service abroad, police trainees, judicial police officers and ordained clergy.

Those failing to respond to call-ups face fines ranging from €250 to €1,320. Police may be ordered to enforce attendance.

Unemployed individuals who complete basic or voluntary military training, as well as reservists, will receive hiring preference for permanent public-sector positions under equal conditions.

Parliament also passed amendments to the Armed Forces Service Act.

Proposals from We Can! and the Social Democratic Party failed to gain majority support. The first sought hiring preference in healthcare for applicants not invoking conscientious objection in abortion care; the second called on the government to submit a Civilian Service Bill within a year.