Call for ‘citizen in uniform’ to share same rights as civilians

Series Title
Series Details Vol.7, No.42, 15.11.01, p6
Publication Date 15/11/2001
Content Type

Date: 15/11/01

SOLDIERS in Europe should benefit from the same social and labour standards as the rest of the EU population, a Brussels conference was told this week.

Euromil, an umbrella organisation representing 500,000 servicemen ranging from conscripts to four-star generals, said the events of 11 September "should not be an excuse for closing dialogue".

Bauke Snoep, vice-president of Euromil, complained that soldiers were regularly excluded from EU directives and that it was "an issue that MEPs do not want to fight".

In a declaration unveiled at the Evere headquarters of the Belgian Army, Euromil stated its basic principles and objectives - the concept of the serviceman as a "citizen in uniform" who must share the very rights and freedoms that governments ask him to defend; the elimination of civic and social rights which are not the necessary outcome of military orders; the right of association for servicemen. "Servicemen make an outstanding contribution to the security of Europe. In exchange, Euromil expects Europe to show social responsibility towards its citizens in uniform," added Snoep.

Among the speakers at its conference were Belgian Minister of State and former Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene and Lieutenant General Rainer Schuwirth, head of the EU military staff and himself a member of a German military association.

Soldiers in Europe should benefit from the same social and labour standards as the rest of the EU population, according to Euromil, an umbrella organisation representing 500,000 servicemen.

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Record URL https://www.europeansources.info/record/?p=257843