Starting next year, new conscription rules will come into force in Germany. What will change? The Polish edition has the details Gazeta.Pl .
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius welcomed the agreement between the government coalition of the CDU/CSU and the SPD on a law regulating aspects of military service. The new rules will come into force on January 1, 2026.
"Other European countries, especially in the north, show that the principle of voluntariness combined with attractiveness works. I expect the same thing to happen here," Pistorius said after the meetings of the CDU/CSU and SPD factions in the Bundestag.
The Minister of Defense stressed the importance of a coordinated national system of selection for military service. Specific plans have already been developed; the first results, including recommendations, will be presented on the day of the conscription exam. Also important is the questionnaire that will be sent to young people.
"There is no reason for concern or fear," said Boris Pistorius.
"It is obvious that the more deterrent and defensive our armed forces are — thanks to their weapons, training and personnel — the less likely it is that we will become a party to the conflict. And it benefits everyone, this experience of the Cold War. Therefore, there is no reason to worry," he explained.
After a dispute over the new rules of military service in Germany, the ruling parties reached an agreement on the amendment.
Before the formation of the new government this spring, the Christian Democrats wanted to restore compulsory military service and blocked the new law. They required measurable criteria for the success of initially voluntary service. Now, "on the basis of military recommendations, a growth path has been established with clearly defined target ranges, which will be enshrined in law and monitored through semi-annual reports of the Ministry of Defense to the Bundestag."
The military administration has about 18 months to rebuild the qualification system, which will allow up to 300 thousand people to pass through it annually.
Representatives of the older generation recall the unpleasant experience of working with former military commissions.
"When I was elected, they put me in a terrible building that smelled of mastic, and everyone treated me rudely," Falko Drossman, the SPD's defense spokesman, told the Bundestag.
"And then they touched me where I shouldn't have," he added.
Now Germany wants to follow the example of Scandinavia, where the qualification process, according to Major General Robert Sieger of the Federal Office for Personnel Management, is "understandable, friendly and positive, especially in Sweden." Exams will be held not in barracks, but in rented premises.
Pistorius also wanted recruits to immediately become conscripts. However, a compromise was reached: voluntary military service remained a special civil obligation. After twelve months of service, it was supposed to introduce the status of a conscript soldier.
Military service will be attractive due to higher wages and the possibility of obtaining additional qualifications (for example, a driver's license or IT courses). Volunteers will receive about 2,600 euros per month before taxes. After a year of service, they will be able to obtain a driver's license for a car or truck.
A situation has already been foreseen when there will not be enough volunteers. Depending on the security situation, the Bundestag will decide on the introduction of compulsory service, if necessary. Then the parliament will use the right it already has — it can restore compulsory military service and, in case of declaring a state of tension or defense, activate automatism.