Decleration by the Central Committee of the Austrian Labour Party (PdA) and the Central Council of the Youth Front. Vienna, 30 July 2026.

After much back and forth, the Austrian government has decided to extend military and civilian service. This is a compromise solution between the three coalition parties. Concrete, basic military service is to last six months plus a further three months in future. However, these additional three months will not be completed in one go, but will be split up. Exactly how this split will work remains to be open. Civilian service is also to be extended to nine plus two months, with the additional two months initially to be undertaken on a voluntary basis. Should the number of conscripts from 2028 fall below the annual target of 15,000 by more than 7.5 per cent, civilian service will be permanently extended to eleven compulsory months from the following year. This clause is referred to as the ‘military service guarantee’.

The military service reform is clearly linked to the rearmament that has been underway for some time, as well as to the greater integration of Austria and its Armed Forces into the military structures of NATO and the EU. The Schwarzenberg military barracks in Salzburg, where the Council of Ministers announced the extension of military and civilian service, is itself an expression of this military strategy: investments totalling 2.5 billion euros are earmarked for air defence systems and short- and medium-range systems to be stationed there. The barracks are thus to be integrated into the ‘Sky Shield’ military project initiated by Germany.

However, these plans go even further. By 2032, defence spending is to be increased to two per cent of GDP. Austria is to be increasingly transformed into an active component of the European and transatlantic imperialist bloc. The constant talk of ‘military readiness’ and ‘defence capability’ serves merely to whitewash these plans and make them appear as if there were no alternative.

The ‘military service guarantee’ already announced makes it clear that the government is also considering further extensions to military and civilian service. Furthermore, civilian service is viewed not only as a reservoir of cheap labour in the social sector, but also as a counter-model to military service, which is to be made as unattractive as possible in order to push more young men into basic military service.

The sweetener for the SPÖ in this compromise proposal was presumably an increase in the pay of conscripts to 1,000 euros a month. And, as Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ) announced enthusiastically, for the first time there will even be ‘a few days’ holiday’ for conscripts – although it is not yet even clear exactly how many days this will amount to.

That is nowhere near enough. What is needed is not only higher pay – for both conscripts and those performing civilian service – but also a fundamental improvement in working and living conditions. This includes, amongst other things, consistent compliance with labour law provisions, effective protection against overtime and harassment, and better standards of accommodation and provision. Furthermore, we demand:

Six months is enough. No extension of military or civilian service!

Not a single cent for new weapons and new armaments!

An end to all foreign missions by the Austrian Armed Forces!

An end to participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace, EU Battlegroups and Sky Shield!

A clear rejection of the repeatedly demanded EU army!

Strict alignment of military doctrine with perpetual neutrality!

An active Austrian peace policy instead of participation in geopolitical rearmament and warmongering!