Serbia’s newly elected Student List, which secured a parliamentary majority in the recent elections, is proposing a different approach to military service, effectively sidelining President Aleksandar Vučić’s plans to reintroduce compulsory conscription.
According to a military reform programme reported by Blic, the Student List intends to introduce six months of voluntary military service instead of mandatory conscription, a policy pursued by the outgoing government.
The programme also includes higher salaries for soldiers, subsidised housing loans and renewed investigations into several controversial deaths and military incidents.
Under the proposal, the voluntary service programme would aim to recruit around 3,000 young people annually. Recruits would receive a minimum monthly payment of 20,000 dinars, with their service counting towards their employment record and pension contributions. The plan also envisages that between 25 and 30 percent of volunteers would eventually join the professional military.
Higher salaries and housing benefits
The Student List is proposing an increase in soldiers’ basic salaries, alongside additional payments for night shifts, dangerous assignments and duty services.
Military personnel would also become eligible for government-subsidised housing loans with interest rates of between one and two percent.
The programme further предусматриes the establishment of an active reserve force consisting of 3,000 reservists under permanent contracts. They could be called up for up to 45 days annually and would receive salaries, daily allowances and additional financial benefits.
New air defence system
Another key element of the programme is the development of an integrated, multi-layered air defence system covering Serbia’s entire territory, under the name “SOVA 24”.
The proposed system would consist of three defensive layers, with ranges extending from 20 kilometres to as much as 300 kilometres.
The Student List also plans to modernise Serbia’s air force under stricter financial oversight, transform defence industry facilities into smart factories and establish a National Centre for Military Electronics in cooperation with technical faculties.
Reopening controversial military cases
The programme also promises to reopen investigations into several controversial incidents within Serbia’s defence system.
These include the deaths of two guards at the Topčider military barracks in 2004, the 2015 crash of an Mi-17 military helicopter and the death of a military officer during the “Munjeviti Udar” exercise in 2021.
The Student List also wants a detailed investigation into the alleged mass departure of military personnel in 2017, with the aim of establishing individual disciplinary and criminal responsibility.
Additionally, it proposes establishing an independent government commission to investigate irregularities, abuses and corruption in arms production, procurement and exports.
The state-owned arms trading company Jugoimport SDPR would also be returned to its primary role of weapons trading.
The programme emphasises that Serbia’s defence institutions should operate under civilian and democratic oversight, involving the government, parliament, the Ombudsman and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance.
It also calls for senior military positions to be filled exclusively by qualified professionals without compromising records.
Earlier, Student List representative Luka Ponorac told RTS that the political movement would seek to allocate five percent of Serbia’s gross domestic product to defence.
