Germany Says No Conscription But Only if People Join Up Voluntarily
Berlin (AP) – German leaders launched a desire to attract more people in the voluntary military service on Wednesday while the country rushes to strengthen its armed forces in the face of growing fears of the Russian aggression, a project which, according to certain members of the governing coalition, is not far enough.
Germany, one of the main members of the European Union and the European Union, has moved to modernize its long-term soldiers since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That year, it created 100 billion euros (117 billion dollars) to modernize the Bundeswehr, a large part of which has been committed to obtaining new equipment.
The coalition of the new chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed the plans this year to allow higher defense expenses by serving strict debt rules. Merz has repeatedly said that he wanted the Bundeswehr to be “the strongest conventional army in Europe”.
The government redoubles its efforts to attract more recruits, which soldiers have had trouble doing in recent years. Germany had some 181,000 active services at the end of last year. But the government says that it must increase this long -term to 260,000, plus some 200,000 reservists.
“The Bundeswehr must grow – the international security situation, especially the aggressive behavior of Russia, makes it necessary,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday. “We do not need well -equipped forces, we go at full speed on this … We also need a Bundeswehr who is strong in terms of staff. It is only then that the deterrence towards Russia is really credible.”
Pistorius spoke after the Merz cabinet approved its plan for a new military service system. It aims to draw enough recruits without restarting the compulsory conscription for men, which was suspended in 2011, but leaves the door open so that the Parliament does it, if not enough people.
The plan provides for remuneration and more attractive conditions for people who agree to join the army for short periods and what Pistorius describes as attractive training offers for those who join for at least six months, as well as flexibility over the duration of the duration of people.
From next year, the government plans to send questionnaires to young men and women who are 18 years old about their will and their ability to serve in the army. From mid-2027, young men will have to undergo medical examinations, but not register for the military.
The plan still needs parliamentary approval. He was authorized at a meeting of the cabinet held for the first time in many years at the Ministry of Defense. Before the decision, the Supreme NATO commander in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, informed the security ministers.
But there have been tensions in the conservative coalition of Merz with the social democrats of the Pistorius center-left as to whether the new system should provide an automatic return to compulsory service if the military cannot attract enough volunteers.
Some conservatives have grown without success for a compulsory service. But Pistorius says that the conditions are not in place for the moment because sufficient barracks and trainers are not currently available.
The plan allows the government to move to a compulsory service “if, during the next, two or three years, we see that the target figures are not reached,” said Merz. He added that he was “confident, at least from today’s point of view, that, in any case, to start, we will reach the figures we need.”
A senior conservative ally of the Chancellor, Bavarian governor Markus Söder, told Ard Television on Sunday that the Pistorius plan is “a first step in the right direction”.
“I don’t think we are going to manage with these calls, making the Bundeswehr a little more attractive,” said Söder. “I think there will not be a way to spend mandatory services.
Later Wednesday, Pistorius joined the German Vice-Chancellor, the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte and others to inaugurate a new artillery ammunition factory built by the defense company Rheinmetall in its Unterluess site in the north of Germany, a project that highlights the efforts of Europe to increase its production of arms.
Rheinmetall aims to produce 350,000 artillery shells per year in the installation. The inauguration only 18 months after a revolutionary ceremony is “a strong signal that we increase the reliability of our supplies here in Germany,” said Pistorius.
Rutte said that “we are challenged” by Russia and China, “but Europe and America together are about to turn the trend in defense production”.
