Italy abolishes military draft

Italy yesterday passed a law phasing out the military draft by 2005, consigning to history a rite of passage for generations of Italians.

The law, which eliminates compulsory military service for 18-year-old boys, was aimed at creating a more professional army and allowing youths to get on with their careers.

"It is an epoch-making measure," Defence Minister Antonio Martino told reporters after the bill was passed. "The armed forces cannot send on delicate overseas missions people who are wearing its uniform but who are not adequately prepared."

In abolishing the draft, Italy joins France and Spain, which have shifted to professional armies in recent years. Spain has also paved the way for citizens from its former colonies who are legal Spanish residents to enter the armed forces.

Conscripts now make up a quarter of Italy's 210,000-strong armed forces, some 2,700 of whom are serving under the US-led occupying forces in Iraq. Men born in 1985 will be the last to be called up to the 10-month draft that was created in 1861.