Contract soldiers able to stay in National Guard until age 57

Contract soldiers are now able to remain in the National Guard until they are 57 years old, Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas explained on Thursday, as he addressed a swearing-in ceremony for newly recruited contract soldiers.

He said contract soldiers are now paid the equivalent of the government’s A2 salary, which last year amounted to between €15,109 and €18,544 per year, and that the special monthly allowance for contract soldiers has also increased.

For regular contract soldiers, he said, the allowance has been increased from €100 to €150 per month, while for those working in the special forces, demining and explosive ordnance disposal, nurses, and engineering machinery operators, the allowance has been increased from €200 to €250 per month.

Additionally, he said, a total of 400 non-commissioned officer positions now exist, allowing for the top 400 candidates who apply to be given permanent positions, and thus serve in the National Guard until they are 57 years old.

He went on to say that there has been “strong interest” in the positions, as well as “increased staffing needs”, which have, in part, come about “due to the programmes currently underway within the framework of the European Union’s Safe mechanism”, the bloc’s Security Action for Europe programme.

The Cypriot government and the European Commission signed the country’s loan agreement allowing it to receive Safe programme funds in June, with European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius promising that “very soon, EU support will start reaching Cyprus’ military and industry”.

Cyprus, meanwhile, secured over €1 billion of funding through the programme, with Palmas saying last year that the funding would see the National Guard acquire military hardware to “cover [its] priorities” until 2030.

He added that the Safe programme came about “at a time when the European Union’s needs to cover shortcomings are significant”, and at a time “when the mobilisation of equipment programmes and joint procurement programmes is becoming urgent”.

“The €150bn which will be invested by member states in the joint procurement of high-tech weapons systems is expected to be the trigger for a new promising era for European defence, with the ultimate goal of autonomy, technological dominance, and resilience,” he said.