A key parliamentary group is advocating for legislative groundwork to be laid now for a potential return to compulsory military service in Germany, even before the government’s planned reforms are fully implemented. Thomas Röwekamp, Chairman of the Defence Committee for the CDU/CSU alliance, voiced his concerns in the “Berlin Playbook” podcast, questioning whether the planned voluntary military service program, spearheaded by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, would be sufficient to meet the Bundeswehr’s ambitious recruitment targets.
The alliance aims to build a standing army of approximately 80,000 additional soldiers alongside a reserve force of 260,000 by 2031. Röwekamp expressed significant reservations about the feasibility of achieving these goals solely through voluntary recruitment within the stated timeframe.
A draft bill, expected to be presented to the cabinet at the end of August, is slated for revisions by the CDU/CSU. Röwekamp emphasized that no legislation leaves parliament unchanged and this principle applies equally to cabinet proposals. The overarching objective is to ensure the NATO-agreed capability targets can be realistically filled with personnel, necessitating adjustments to the current plans.
Should voluntary recruitment prove inadequate, the group believes the state must be able to respond swiftly. Röwekamp suggested that a legal framework is needed to facilitate a rapid, streamlined reinstatement of compulsory military service should recruitment fall short after one to two years, bypassing the need for further parliamentary approval. This would allow for immediate action in scenarios involving heightened security threats or a failure to achieve sufficient personnel levels.
Röwekamp described the current proposal as “time-bound” and potentially insufficient to achieve Germany’s commitment to NATO’s defense capabilities, advocating for a system that enables the government to reinstate mandatory service without undue delay – granting them the authority to act quickly when necessary.