German office supports voluntary military service, opening the door to conscription

The German cabinet has adopted a bill which will present a voluntary military service. The bill could also lead to conscription if more troops are required.

This is part of a decision to stimulate the German national defenses, after the large -scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

The compulsory military service in Germany ended in 2011 under the chance of the Chancellor of the Angela Merkel era.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz made Solating Germany a priority given the threat of Russia and said “we are now back on the path of a military service army”.

He summed up his reflection earlier this year saying: “We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we do not have to defend ourselves.”

Germany’s plans also follow the calls of US President Donald Trump so that Europe assumes more responsibility for its own defense.

When his coalition government came to power earlier this year, he has loosened borrowing restrictions to allow an increase in defense spending, then announced plans for 3.5% of economic production to defend himself in the next four years.

The Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, wanted to increase the number of soldiers in service from 182,000 to 260,000 in the early 2030s to reach new targets of NATO force and strengthen the defenses of Germany.

The Ministry of Defense also wishes to increase the number of reservists to 200,000.

In the future, all 18 -year -old Germans, men and women, will receive an online questionnaire asking if they are ready to volunteer for military service. He will include questions about their physical form.

Men will have to fill out the form, but it will be voluntary for women.

Quentin Gärtner, 18, who heads the country’s federal conference of students, said that his generation wanted to contribute to the defense of German democracy – but that the votes of young people should be heard.

“We cannot do our part and assume the responsibility of our company only when we are included in each decision-making process affecting our generation,” he told the BBC. “The Ministry of Defense has not yet contacted us … He can call me at any time.”

In a statement, the government said military service would be voluntary as long as possible.

However, he said that if the security situation is getting worse or if too few volunteers have come forward, the government could decide to use the compulsion with the approval of the German Parliament, the Bundestag.

Pistorius told Deutschlandfunk Radio that he expected that military service will remain voluntary.

“With attractive remuneration and attractive military service, I am very convinced that we will succeed in attracting young men and women to the Bundeswehr,” he said.

In recent years, the Ministry of Defense has intensified advertising campaigns and career events in order to recruit soldiers.

In the first six months of this year, the Bundeswehr reported a 28% increase in the number of new recruits compared to the same period last year.

Some members of the Social Democratic Party of Pistorius, the coalition junior partner, criticized the plans, saying that the Bundeswehr should be made a more attractive employer, rather than reintroducing compulsory military service.

The members of the Conservators of Chancellor Merz warned that insistence on approval by the Bundestag before reintroducing conscription could delay things too much.

Some commentators wondered if it was the right step for Germany.

Johannes Angermann, writing for the MDR public broadcaster, said that military service would deprive the young generation of “time and money”. Rather, he pleaded for an improved professional army.

Meanwhile, the anti-war group Rheinmetal Entwaffnen said in an article on social networks: “We don’t want to have anything to do with the wars of the ruling classes and are not ready to die for a country that increasingly reduces all social infrastructure. We will not fight your wars!”