The wheels have been put in motion to cut down National Service after Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides confirmed that a draft legislative proposal was on its way to parliament.

Fokaides made the comments following Thursday’s cabinet meeting which gave the green light to cut down the National Service time to 18 months. He would not give any further details saying the political parties must first be informed.

Speaking to reporters, Fokaides said the reduction time – which currently sees National Guard conscripts serving two years – is “the first step towards creating a professional army”.

Ένας σημαντικός στόχος υλοποιείται. Μείωση της στρατιωτικής θητείας στους 14 μήνες pic.twitter.com/21uj5HYtZb

— Nicos Anastasiades (@AnastasiadesCY) February 25, 2016

The new bill went sent to the House before then being put to the plenum for approval provided that it gets the green light from MPs. That means that the recruits that went in last summer (2015) will serve 18 months with all the other conscripts before that serving 14 months.

“The legislative proposal calls for the 2015 B’ ESSO recruits to serve 18 months with the 14 months coming into force with the arrival of the conscripts for 2016 B’ ESSO,” said Fokaides. “This is the first step towards becoming a professional army and not a move that will weaken our defences. I will be attending the parliamentary committees to inform them on the proposals and I will be at their disposal.”

The news has already been given the thumbs up by both President Nicos Anastasiades and Finance Minister Harris Georgiades who both took to Twitter to praise the decision.

“An important target is close to completion”, tweeted President Anastasiades while Georgiades added “We are moving forward!”