BERLIN, August 27. /TASS/. The German government has endorsed Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’s bill on a new model of military service, the DPA news agency reported.
The bill introduces a voluntary military service similar to Sweden, where all school leavers are subject to military examination but only some eventually enter active service. The document also contains certain "mandatory elements," which in particular reinstate the examination of conscripts and oblige all men between 18 and 25 years old to fill out a form with a paragraph on their readiness to perform military service. Women may do so voluntarily.
The authorities aim to make military service more appealing. To this end, they plan to increase military salaries, cover some costs for new recruits, including driving licenses, expand career and training opportunities, and improve access to language courses and sports facilities. Those who decide to remain in the army will receive additional payments.
The bill also specifies the conditions under which compulsory military service may be reintroduced. This may occur if the security situation deteriorates and the country faces a shortage of volunteers to ensure national security and carry out NATO missions.
The bill provoked fierce debates in the German government. Members of the conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CDU/CSU) demanded clarification on how many recruits are expected each year and under what conditions a return to mandatory service would take place. The bill will now be submitted to the Bundestag (parliament) for discussion.
Germany abolished mandatory military service in July 2011, switching to a professional army. The German Armed Forces (the Bundeswehr) currently number about 183,000. The German authorities believe that to fully safeguard the country’s security and perform NATO missions, the army needs at least 80,000 more professional soldiers and contract servicemen, as well as about 140,000 reservists.