The German government on Monday passed a bill that would introduce voluntary military service as part of efforts to strengthen national defense due to security concerns related to Russia, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The text also opens the door to reintroducing compulsory military service, the agency notes. The Defense Ministry hopes the voluntary six-month program will help double the number of trained reservists, now around 100,000, and allow some of the volunteers to continue their careers in active service.
The bill is likely to face difficulties in parliament, which will be a test of Germany's commitment to strengthening national defense at a time of growing security threats following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Germany ended compulsory military service in 2011 and has struggled to meet its troop strength goals since then.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to increase the number of active-duty soldiers from 180,000 to 260,000 by the early 2030s to meet new NATO goals and strengthen Germany's defenses – part of the planned increase in military spending.
"The Bundeswehr must grow", Pistorius said at a press conference today. "The international security situation, and above all Russia's aggressive stance, make this necessary."
"We don't just need well-equipped forces - we are already on the way to achieving this", he continued. "But we also need a Bundeswehr that is strong in terms of personnel. Only then will the overall deterrent effect be truly reliable with regard to Russia."
The bill sets certain annual recruitment targets for the new voluntary scheme: an increase from 20,000 in 2026 to 38,000 in 2030.
If these numbers are not achieved, the government could decide to reinstate conscription, provided that parliament approves this, according to the latest draft of the bill.
The current bill already contains some mandatory elements, such as requiring all young men to fill out an online questionnaire about their willingness and ability to serve in the military after turning 18, in order to get a better idea of the potentially available personnel.
Critics, particularly Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives, say that approval by the Bundestag could delay the introduction of conscription. service. They want the bill to automatically trigger conscription in the event of missed targets.
Lawmakers from Pistorius' Social Democratic Party (SPD), Merz's junior coalition partner, say the priority should be making the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, an attractive employer, rather than returning to compulsory service.
Germany's armed forces reported a 28 percent increase in recruitment to more than 13,700 soldiers from January to the end of July compared with the same period last year, which the ministry described as the rarest increase in years.