The Dutch Ministry of Defense is exploring reintroducing military conscription for the first time in 27 years.

The ministry believes that the Netherlands should prepare for a major military conflict within the next five to ten years, reveals a ministerial document obtained by RTL Nieuws.

Yes, it might sound extreme, but let’s see exactly what this would entail. 👇

Is there cause for concern?

Yes and no: if compulsory military service is reintroduced, Dutch citizens of conscription age could be called to report for service.

Hold your helmets, though! This doesn’t mean that they would be catapulted from the classroom or office to the front in a matter of months.

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If the Prime Minister, Parliament, and Senate all greenlight the idea, conscription with compulsory attendance could be reintroduced on paper in a matter of weeks — its formal execution, however, would take much longer.

The Dutch military currently welcomes about 1,000 voluntary recruits per year. As such, it is absolutely not logistically prepared to house and train the 200,000-odd conscripts that would, in theory, be called up every year.

As a result, building up the human and material resources necessary to reintroduce conscription would require a massive effort: that alone could take years from the moment the decision is made.

There would be exemptions

Even if someone were conscripted, they might still be exempted, most likely for medical reasons.

Throughout the years, physical requirements to join the army became stricter, so many conscripts would not even be cleared to start training.

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Those who are, in turn, might have other reasons for exemption, such as for being the sole breadwinners in their household or for being “conscientious objectors” (people with strong reasons to refuse conscription on ethical grounds).

Regular soldiers would be prioritised

Finally, even in conflict, the Netherlands would likely first resort to the 42,000 professional soldiers it already has for active combat.

As such, fresh conscripts would probably remain far away from the front — at least initially. 👀

Do you think the Netherlands should reintroduce compulsory attendance conscription? Shoot a comment (and only a comment 😬) below to let us know.

The Municipality of Arnhem is trying out an innovative poverty relief scheme: it’s offering to pay off the debts of 60 households from its poorest district, Immerloo — but not everyone trusts them enough to accept the money.

So far, the municipality has cleared around €200,000 of debt, reports NU.nl.

“There is no catch”

Did this headline tickle your sceptical bone? Well, Immerloo residents had the same reaction.

Even though the authorities insist that “there is no catch,” most of the targeted households have turned down the offer for now.

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“People have a lot of distrust towards the government. We are not allowed to enter the first time we ring the doorbell,” a spokesperson for Arnhem’s alderman tells NU.nl.

However, that seems to be slowly changing. “With 15 households, we are at the point where we can come by more often,” the spokesperson adds.

First few households are debt-free

For the families that did accept, life is about to change.

The municipality has already mapped out the debts of the first ten households, which together amount to about €540,000, spread over 250 different creditors.

Eighty of these debts, corresponding to roughly €200,000, have now been paid off.

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The municipality is moving fast, especially seeing the urgency and seriousness of the problems faced by these families — some of which have been postponing surgery or struggling with childcare due to their financial issues.

A clean slate

Apparently, the scheme has no hidden conditions — the municipality just wants to give its poorest residents a chance to start fresh.

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The money is coming partly from a buy-back fund set up for this initiative, and partly from major municipality creditors, including energy supplier Vattenfall and insurance company Menzis.

The scheme also includes two optional years of free guidance to help the participating residents stay debt-free in the future.

What do you think of this groundbreaking debt relief scheme? Share your opinion with us in the comments below.