German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the ruling coalition's plans to introduce compulsory military service may be reviewed, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
“I share the Defense Minister's assessment that we currently lack a large number of soldiers in the Bundeswehr - it is a five-digit figure“, Merz said during a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoff in Berlin.
He specified that the German government will analyze whether current programs and voluntary military service are sufficient to achieve NATO's new goals. "If voluntary service is not enough, we will have to discuss additional measures soon," the chancellor stressed.
At the same time, Merz assured that any new measures would not violate the coalition agreement between the conservatives and the Social Democrats. According to him, the agreement provides for "a new, attractive military service that will initially be based on voluntary participation." The chancellor emphasized the word "initially."
Meanwhile, the general secretary and chairman of the parliamentary group of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), Matthias Mirsch, said that the return of conscription would not be discussed within the current composition of parliament. "The coalition agreement clearly shows that we are committed to voluntary service. "If a change is needed, it will happen in the next parliament, not this one," he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
The new parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, Henning Otte, also spoke out on the subject. He told public broadcaster ARD that the army should be protected from unnecessary requirements, but added that the return of compulsory military service might be necessary. "I will raise this issue again - and before the end of the year," Otte said.