European countries 'must confront possibility of conscription', former NATO deputy chief says amid Russian threat

12 March 2025, 18:33

European countries must 'confront' conscription, former NATO deputy chief tells Tom

European countries should consider the issue of conscription seriously, a former deputy secretary-general of NATO has said.

Rose Gottemoeller, who served from 2016-2019, told LBC's Tom Swarbrick that conscription was "a tough issue" politically - but said that slowing population growth was an issue.

It comes after the US under Donald Trump made it clear that European countries would have to foot more of the bill for their own security.

Keir Starmer and other European leaders have called for higher defence spending to gain a measure of independence from the US.

Some military figures in the UK have said that conscription must be considered. Ministers have said that conscription is not currently planned.

Read more: Ukraine urged to lower conscription age to 18 in bid to quickly boost size of military

Read more: Britain must learn from Sweden to boost defence as tensions with Russia rise, military chief says

Defence Secretary indicates he is interested in conscription as he meets Norwegian soldiers

Ms Gottemoeller said: "Well, it's clear to me that the armies in NATO and Europe do have a problem. Everyone's got a problem with demography. We don't have the growing populations that we had several decades ago.

"So it is a problem for the armed forces across Europe, It's a problem for the United States of America. Nobody's talking about conscription in the US, but there has been a problem with recruitment for the US armed forces."

She added that it was a "tough issue politically" and that she didn't "envy European leaders who may be considering this step."

Matthew Wright responds to listener, who asks 'how many equality-seeking women would be willing to be conscripted?'

Sweden and Latvia have both introduced conscription in recent years. The Riga government urged other European leaders to follow suit last week. It was something that was taken up by the Swedes a few years ago.

Ms Gottemoeller added: "There are different ways of going about it, and I won't hazard a guess as to what will be best for European NATO countries.

"But clearly it's an issue to be confronted and a direction of travel that Europe is having to contend with."

Ali Miraj asks should we be considering conscription?

Asked over the weekend if conscription is in mind for the government, Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said: "We're not considering conscription, but, of course, we've announced a major increase in defence expenditure a couple of weeks ago, and we do have to recognise that the world has changed here.

"The phrase 'step up' is used a lot in recent weeks and Europe does have to step up in terms of its own defence.

"President Trump isn't actually the first president to say that, but he said it more loudly and with more force than his predecessors. So, I think we've got to recognise that moment."