Each of the 27 EU countries decides on its own defence policy, its army and, where appropriate, its conscription. However, ahead of the European Parliament elections in June 2024, Hungarian government officials, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, have claimed that the EU is planning to introduce a Europe-wide military conscription, citing alleged remarks by German MEP Manfred Weber in a televised debate. Weber, however, said he had made no such comments, and AFP has found no trace of any such statement. European defence policy experts told AFP that Brussels had no power to take such decisions under the EU treaties.