Compulsory military service may be reintroduced in a European country

ARD: Merz does not rule out that compulsory military service may be introduced in Germany

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz does not exclude the possibility that compulsory military service may be introduced in Germany. This will happen if the recruitment of soldiers on a voluntary basis is not sufficient for the planned increase in the size of the German army.

He noted that the German authorities are now focusing on voluntary service.

“I hope that we will be able to attract soldiers to the Bundeswehr, including with attractive offers. We want the armed forces to become what we need,” the chancellor said on the ARD television channel.

In early December, the Bundestag (the country’s parliament) adopted a law on a new model of military service in Germany. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’s bill would require young people to undergo a medical examination and restore military registration.

Potential recruiters will be required to fill out questionnaires in which they must answer questions about physical fitness and readiness to join the German Armed Forces. However, recruitment into the army will for now be carried out on a voluntary basis. If there are not enough volunteers, then the German authorities can introduce the so-called conscription on demand. The country’s Ministry of Defense plans to increase the number of soldiers from the current 184 thousand to 260 thousand by 2035. Let us add that compulsory conscription into the German army was abolished in 2011.

Previously The Finnish Ministry of Defense announced the recruitment of women into the army.

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