The German parliament advanced a draft law to move Germany to a voluntary conscription model and begin mandatory physical checks for all male citizens coming of age, Defense News reported yesterday. Under the new legislation, the Bundeswehr—the country’s armed forces—will be legally bound to its goal of stocking up the number of both active personnel and reservists to a total of up to 470,000 soldiers, of which 270,000 would be active-duty soldiers, by 2035. On Friday, the Bundeswehr said it had around 184,330 active personnel, up 1.5% or 2,750 soldiers from a year ago.
There are no plans for mandatory conscription “currently,” the German Bundeswehr said in a statement after the draft law passed. “If that is not enough, we will have no choice but to introduce partial conscription,” said German defense minister Boris Pistorius on the sidelines of the vote in the parliament. A provision for a compulsory military service on a needs basis is included in the draft law, but would require an additional vote by parliament to activate.
