US EditionGerman lawmakers approve plan to attract more military recruits that stops short of conscription
The plan raises pay and training standards while maintaining voluntary service and allowing limited conscription if needed, aiming to increase personnel to 260,000 and reservists to 200,000.
- On Friday, the Bundestag approved the government plan by 323 votes to 272 to attract more military recruits amid concern about Russia.
- Years of underinvestment prompted Germany to commit billions to upgrade the Bundeswehr and shift focus to recruitment, while conscription was suspended in 2011 and active personnel have hovered just above 180,000.
- The plan includes raising pay, improving training, and offering service from a minimum of six months, while starting next year questionnaires will be sent to young men and women turning 18, with men required to answer and undergo medical checks.
- Now the government wants to raise active personnel to 260,000 over the next decade and around 200,000 reservists, with the Defense Ministry required to report biannually from January 2027.
- The law stops short of reintroducing conscription but leaves open limited compulsory service, exposing splits between Merz's conservative bloc and the center-left junior coalition partner as France, Belgium and Poland pursue recruitment moves.
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51 Articles
The plan, revised by the Government of Friedrich Merz, does not restore compulsory military service, but remains open to the possibility of opening it to a limited number of people.
The German parliament's lower house approved a new conscription plan on Friday, aimed at bolstering the country's long-poorly equipped and undermanned armed forces following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
German lawmakers approve plan to attract more military recruits as Europe seeks to counter Russia
Germany’s Bundestag voted for a bill on Friday that allows the country to move towards conscription, as tensions with Russia spur calls for Europe to gain more independence from the US security umbrella.
Associated Press News
German lawmakers approve plan to attract more military recruits that stops short of conscription
German lawmakers have approved the government’s plan to attract more military recruits as the country tries to boost the ranks of its armed forces in the face of rising concern about the threat posed by Russia.
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