Tag: draft

Draft-Age German Men Need Travel Approval

Field jackets hanging at the Bundeswehr stand on August 21 2025 in North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne as the German army looks for new recruits at the Gamescom computer games fair | File Photo: Oliver Berg/dpa

Germany now requires men aged 17–45 to seek approval for stays abroad over three months under its new military service law. The rule supports efforts to track availability as the country works to expand troop numbers.

German Govt Compromises On Military Draft

Alexander Hoffmann (L-R), CSU parliamentary group leader, Matthias Miersch, SPD parliamentary group leader, Jens Spahn, chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, and Boris Pistorius (SPD), Federal Minister of Defense, at a press conference on the agreement in principle over the dispute over the military service reform | Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Germany’s coalition government has agreed on a new military service model that begins as a voluntary programme but allows parliament to introduce conscription if recruitment falls short.