Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) plans to have the law for the introduction of a new military service approved by the cabinet before the parliamentary summer break. “My plan is to bring the law forward before the summer break” said Pistorius to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (Saturday editions).
“But it’s not just up to me, but also the ministry’s co-signature” he added. This refers to the involvement of all those ministries that are affected by the decision, which precedes the cabinet’s consideration.
Pistorius left open whether it would be the same draft law that was adopted by the Ampel coalition cabinet or whether the new draft would include a mandatory element in case not enough military service providers could be gathered without it. “I don’t want to publicly say what the law looks like before the ministry’s co-signature” he said. “Just wait and see.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence confirmed that preparations were underway. “Due to the early federal election, parliamentary consideration and the implementation of the prepared law for the new military service were no longer possible in the last legislative period” said the spokesperson to the RND.
“Nevertheless, the Ministry of Defence will continue to pursue preparations for the possible new military service, such as training content, training capacities like personnel and infrastructure, procedures and capacities for conscription and military supervision” the spokesperson added. This is to ensure the strengthening of the reserve and the guarantee of conscription and military supervision “without delay.”
The Ampel cabinet had agreed to the draft law in November. Upon reaching the age for military service, usually at 18 years old, young men and women would fill out an online form for the Bundeswehr with questions about their qualifications and willingness. For women, participation should be voluntary.
Subsequently, suitable and willing individuals should be summoned for muster with the aim of gaining 5,000 military service providers in the first year. However, the coalition agreement states: “We will establish an attractive new military service that initially operates on a voluntary basis.” What follows after the word “initially” is not specified. Additionally, the agreement states that they want to orient towards the Swedish military service model, allowing for mandatory recruitment in case of need.