Policy shift: Student List drops plans for mandatory military service

Judging by the programme, the change in government could mean the end of previous plans to reintroduce compulsory military service. The Student List's proposal mentions only a six-month voluntary military service programme.

The first priority outlined in the programme is an increase in basic salaries for military personnel. Additional allowances would be introduced for duty shifts, night work and hazardous assignments, while field allowances would be paid at the full daily rate.

The programme also proposes a state-backed housing loan scheme for all military personnel, with subsidised interest rates of between 1% and 2%.

What happens to compulsory military service?

The programme makes no mention of compulsory military service, which the previous government had planned to reintroduce.

Instead, the Student List proposes six months of voluntary military service, with the aim of attracting approximately 3,000 volunteers annually.

Volunteers would receive at least 20,000 dinars per month, and their service would count towards their employment record. The goal is for at least 25% to 30% of participants to join the professional armed forces after completing their service.

The active reserve force would consist of 3,000 reservists under ongoing contracts.

They would serve for up to 45 days a year, receiving a salary, a daily field allowance of approximately 5,000 dinars, an additional annual payment equivalent to a "13th salary" or a 5% to 10% bonus, and preferential treatment when applying for government jobs.

"SOVA 24" air defence shield and smart factories

Another part of the programme focuses on modernising military equipment and Serbia's defence industry.

The proposal includes the development of an integrated, multilayered air defence shield covering the entire country, connected through a system called "SOVA 24".

The system would operate across three layers:

• Short-range: 20–30 kilometres

• Medium-range: 30–100/170 kilometres

• Long-range: 170–300 kilometres

The air force would be modernised under what the programme describes as a strictly controlled financial plan, with a permanent quick-reaction alert capability.

The Student List also proposes transforming defence industry facilities into "smart factories" and establishing a National Centre for Military Electronics in cooperation with technical faculties.

Topčider deaths and Mi-17 helicopter crash to be reinvestigated

The programme also addresses deaths and incidents within Serbia's defence system.

These include the deaths of two guardsmen at the Topčider military facility in 2004, the crash of a Mi-17 military helicopter in 2015, and the death of a sergeant during the "Lightning Strike" military exercise in 2021.

The Student List says these cases would be reopened and thoroughly investigated.

It also proposes a detailed investigation into what it describes as the mass departure of military personnel beginning in 2017, with the aim of identifying individual disciplinary and criminal responsibility.

Review of arms contracts and stronger civilian oversight

The programme calls for the establishment of an independent, interdepartmental government commission to investigate irregularities, abuses and corruption in the production, procurement and export of weapons.

It also proposes returning the state-owned defence company Jugoimport SDPR to what it describes as its "core activity: arms trading".

Under the proposed reforms, Serbia's defence system would be subject to strict civilian and democratic oversight through the government, Parliament, the Ombudsman and the Commissioner for Information.

The programme also states that senior positions within the defence system would be reserved exclusively for "qualified individuals with unblemished records".