Generation 2004 calls for officially recognised voluntary military service and reserve training to be eligible for special leave under the EU staff regulations
Europe’s security environment has changed fundamentally since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Across Member States, governments are strengthening defence capabilities, expanding reserve forces, and encouraging citizens to acquire the skills needed to contribute to national resilience and preparedness.
Against this background, Generation 2004 has addressed a note to the European Commission calling for the recognition of officially recognised voluntary military service and reserve training as eligible for special leave under the EU Staff Regulations.
A changing security environment
The European Union is increasingly recognising that security and preparedness cannot depend solely on professional armed forces. Resilient societies also require citizens who are trained, prepared and capable of contributing when circumstances require it.
Many Member States therefore provide opportunities for citizens to undertake voluntary military service, join reserve forces, or participate in structured military training.
For EU staff members, however, participation in such programmes can raise a practical question: while the Staff Regulations provide a framework for leave for military service and reserve training when an official is called up, what about colleagues who voluntarily choose to undertake officially recognised military or reserve training?
Generation 2004 believes that this question deserves consideration.
Voluntary service is also a contribution to preparedness
Voluntary military training is not simply a personal choice or private activity. Where it forms part of an officially recognised national programme, it contributes to the preparedness and resilience of the Member State concerned.
A colleague who voluntarily undertakes military or reserve training acquires skills that can be relevant in situations ranging from national emergencies to wider security challenges. At a time when European countries are seeking to strengthen their reserves and increase the number of trained citizens, discouraging such participation through the absence of an appropriate leave framework would appear counterproductive.
We therefore believe that officially recognised voluntary military service should be considered alongside compulsory or formally ordered military service for the purposes of special leave.
A signal to Member States and citizens
There is also a broader institutional dimension.
If the European institutions recognise and facilitate voluntary military training undertaken by their staff, this will send an important signal to Member States and their citizens: the European Union takes seriously the defence, security and resilience of every Member State.
The European institutions should not be detached from the realities facing the societies they serve. On the contrary, the European public service benefits when its staff remain connected to their national communities and understand the concerns, expectations and challenges experienced by citizens.
Colleagues who voluntarily participate in recognised military or reserve programmes can, in this sense, become an additional bridge between European institutions and citizens.
They remain part of their communities. They experience first-hand the realities of national preparedness. They interact with citizens outside the institutional environment. And they can bring that experience back into their professional lives, providing a better understanding of developments and concerns on the ground.
This connection is particularly valuable at a time when Europe faces heightened security challenges and when, in some Member States, scepticism towards the European project and support for political movements opposed to the EU are increasing.
A European public service that understands the realities of its citizens is a stronger public service.
Supporting preparedness should be in the interest of the institutions
The request from Generation 2004 is therefore not about preferential treatment or additional benefits for colleagues who choose to serve.
It is about recognising that voluntary military training can serve a legitimate public interest.
At a time when Member States are asking more citizens to contribute to national preparedness, European institutions should consider how their own employment framework can support — rather than unintentionally discourage — such efforts.
Allowing appropriate special leave for officially recognised voluntary military service would also demonstrate that EU staff are not separated from the responsibilities and realities faced by citizens across Europe.
It would allow colleagues to acquire skills, contribute to national resilience and return to their institutional work with a better understanding of the security environment and of the communities they serve.
A European public service connected to society
Europe is entering a period in which security and preparedness will increasingly be part of the everyday reality of public institutions and citizens alike.
The European institutions have an important role to play in this effort. That role is not limited to legislation, policy or funding. It also includes ensuring that the European public service remains connected to the societies it serves.
Supporting colleagues who voluntarily undertake recognised military, and reserve training would be one practical way of strengthening that connection.
Generation 2004 believes that European institutions should recognise and support those who voluntarily contribute to the preparedness and resilience of their Member States.
We hope that the European Commission will engage constructively with this proposal and consider how the existing framework can evolve in response to Europe’s new security reality.
Have you experienced this?
If you are a colleague who has been refused recognition of special leave for military service or reserve training, we would like to hear from you.
Please contact Generation 2004 and share your experience with us.
