The second reading of the Draft of the new Defense Code to start in the Parliament today, April 10.

The Government has initiated a draft Defense Code to increase the effectiveness of defense forces management and prepare a unified codified legal act in the field of defense. The Code was adopted by the Parliament in the first reading on April 5 with 80 votes in favor and 2 votes against.

The main focus of the Code is on new rules of military service that are tailored to defense goals and improving the social guarantees of personnel employed in the Ministry of Defense. The Code establishes the National Military Service of conscripts in a new way, allowing conscripts to complete 6, 8, and 11-month military service only in the Ministry of Defense. The draft amendments are based on the models of Finnish and Baltic countries and provide a one-time possibility of postponement of military service and conditions for alternative military service.