Germany clears way to reintroduce military service

(L-R) Inspector General Carsten Breuer, U.S. Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius talk at the start of the 14th cabinet meeting of the 21st legislative period at the Bendlerblock in the German Defence Ministry | Photo: Britta Pedersen/dpa

Berlin: Germany is “back on the path towards a military service-based army,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday, after his Cabinet backed plans to reintroduce the measure in a voluntary capacity. The move is one of several steps agreed on Wednesday to boost Germany’s defence architecture, including the creation of a new National Security Council, in response to geopolitical shifts that are leaving Western Europe more exposed to threats from Russia.

The military service bill, drawn up by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, creates a new voluntary program aimed at young men, more than a decade after the country abandoned mandatory conscription in 2011.

Pistorius called the plan – which includes options to make conscription necessary if the recruitment drive is unsuccessful – a “massive step forwards,” despite criticism from Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that it does not go far enough to bolster the Bundeswehr, the German military.

The bill now goes to the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, where it is likely to be rigorously debated and could yet undergo significant changes.

Eyeing Moscow

The legislative proposal comes as countries across Europe scramble to respond to the threat to security from Russia in the wake of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Following the Cabinet meeting in Berlin, Merz said “Russia has long been carrying out hybrid attacks against us,” highlighting “massive interference” in German democracy and targeted attacks on IT security.

Under NATO capability targets, Germany is due to increase its forces to 260,000 soldiers – meaning an additional 80,000 active troops must be recruited. The new military service is intended to provide the basis for a larger reserve force. The plan is to begin with 15,000 new recruits and to introduce mandatory medical assessments starting in 2027.

In future, young men will be required to indicate in a questionnaire whether they are willing and able to serve, while women may do so voluntarily. In order to make service more attractive, conscripts are to be paid a high salary, earning more than €2,000 ($2,320) net per month.

Your country needs you

Merz said he believed the new plans will be sufficient to recruit the tens of thousands of soldiers needed. “From today’s perspective, I am confident that we will achieve the figures we need, at least initially,” he said.

Additional measures will have to be judged in the light of developments, he added, referring to the possibility of mandatory service provided for in the bill if not enough volunteers can be recruited.

Pistorius – whose centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) has resisted pressure from its conservative coalition partners to move straight to a compulsory service – said the new plan could change the mindset of many young Germans, promoting the ideal of serving the country.

Members of younger generations will have to decide how they can contribute to Germany’s security, through debates in families, workplaces, schools and universities, he said. The Bundeswehr must grow up, added Pistorius, pointing to the international security situation and the threat from Russia. A strong military is the most effective means of preventing wars, he argued.

On Tuesday, Chancellor Merz said, “If we see that we are not reaching the numbers we need, then the next step will have to follow – starting with a military census,” pointing out that training capacities for reactivating compulsory military service, which was suspended in Germany in 2011, are not yet available and that the coalition agrees that these must first be created.

Former German foreign minister and Social Democrat, Sigmar Gabriel, has also called for compulsory military service. “Germany must reinstate compulsory military service. Otherwise, we will not be able to turn the Bundeswehr [military] back into a territorial army with sufficient reserves,” Gabriel told the Tagesspiegel newspaper in remarks published on Saturday. Germany suspended conscription in 2011 but it remains enshrined in Germany’s de facto constitution, the Basic Law, and can be reintroduced with a simple majority in parliament.

“We live in a world where defence capabilities and deterrence are prerequisites for peace,” he said, adding that a strong military is not intended for war, but to prevent it.

National Security Council

Ministers also approved the establishment of a National Security Council (NSC) on Wednesday, aiming to coordinate security policy and enable faster decision-making at times of crisis.

The body, modelled on similar setups in the United States and Britain, will also be tasked with developing long-term strategies to deal with threat scenarios, taking a networked approach to security issues. Chaired by the chancellor, the NSC will include key ministers as well as officials from allied countries and organisations, including the European Union and NATO.

Following the Cabinet decision, Merz described the council as a central platform for overarching security issues and an important component of a cohesive security policy. “Security is high on the political agenda” for his government, he said, adding that the move was a signal to citizens and allies in NATO. The establishment of the NSC was under discussion for 30 years, and his new government approved it after just a few months in office, Merz noted.

Other measures approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday included proposals to increase cybersecurity protections.

Criticism from Greens, military association

The plans have not received unanimous backing in Germany, however.

Britta Hasselmann from the opposition Greens said the proposal was lacking in ambition and ideas to increase the Bundeswehr‘s appeal as an employer, instead relying on the option of conscription. “Coercion and obligation are fundamentally not the right way to achieve this goal,” she argued.

The head of Germany’s Bundeswehr Association, André Wüstner, also called the plans inadequate. “The draft law is indeed an improvement […] but it still falls short when it comes to the strategic challenge of recruiting and retaining personnel,” Wüstner told dpa. His organisation represents the interests of some 200,000 active soldiers, reservists and former military personnel. Wüstner said staffing levels were largely stagnant among temporary and career soldiers.

Defence Ministry figures showed at the beginning of 2025 there were 170,800 professional soldiers in Germany, rising to 171,650 as of July 1.

Protests against military service

Activists from the anti-war alliance “Rheinmetall Disarm” block access to a Bundeswehr career centre in Cologne | Photo: Sascha Thelen/dpa

Meanwhile in Cologne, anti-war activists demonstrated outside a military career centre of Germany’s Bundeswehr in Cologne on Wednesday, to protest government plans to reintroduce a form of military service. The sit-in blockade by the alliance “Rheinmetall entwaffnen” (‘Disarm Rheinmetall’) proceeded peacefully, according to the police. Rheinmetall is Germany’s largest arms company.

A police spokesman said that around 70 people were involved in the protest, adding: “The security forces have encircled these individuals.”

The protest kicks off several “days of action” against conscription, the activist group said. The group, in a statement, pointed to the Cologne military career centre and said “This building is where the central coordination of Bundeswehr staff planning takes place.

“As soon as conscription is reintroduced, recruitment will also be organised here. That’s why we are here today to make it clear: We are not ready for war!” it added.

Operations at the career centre were continuing as normal, according to a spokeswoman for the Bundeswehr in Cologne. She said freedom of opinion and assembly were fundamental rights and among the highest values of democracy.

The Bundeswehr was committed to protecting democracy, she said. “We also fight for people to be able to be against us.”

Only 16% of Germans would ‘definitely’ fight for country: Poll

Earlier this month, dpa reported only about one in six Germans say they would be willing to take up arms without hesitation in the event of a military conflict, according to a survey.

Conducted by the German opinion institute Forsa for the RND media group, the poll found that 16 percent of respondents said they would “definitely” fight, while another 22 percent said they would “probably” do so.

A clear majority of 59 percent said they would “probably not” or definitely not be willing to defend Germany with weapons if the country were attacked. Among women, that reluctance rises to 72 percent.

At the same time, more than one in four respondents (27 percent) said they considered a military attack on Germany within the next five years to be very or somewhat likely.

Meanwhile, 59 percent of those surveyed said they believed it was likely that Germany would have to provide military assistance to another NATO member under its mutual defence obligations during that period.

The survey of around 1,000 German citizens was conducted by Forsa on July 28 and July 29, amid heightened debate over the country’s defence readiness.

The results carry a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.