Germany Shelves Compulsory Military service, opts for Enhanced Voluntary System to Boost Armed Forces
Berlin, Germany – Germany will not reinstate mandatory military service, despite recent calls for a meaningful expansion of its armed forces, Defense Minister Boris pistorius announced today. Instead, the goverment will focus on bolstering the existing voluntary service system to reach a target of up to 270,000 uniformed troops, supplemented by 200,000 reservists, by 2029.
The decision comes as Germany seeks to rapidly modernize and strengthen its military in response to the evolving security landscape, especially following russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Prior to this, Germany had suspended its military conscription program in 2011 under then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, shifting towards a professional army geared towards international missions. while the constitutional basis for conscription was retained, it remained suspended.
The move to expand the armed forces is already backed by substantial financial commitments. Parliament previously approved billions in additional defence spending, building on a €100 billion fund pledged by Merkel’s successor, Olaf Scholz, to rebuild and modernize the country’s historically under-equipped military.
Pistorius, a prominent Social Democrat, expressed confidence in the voluntary service model, citing successful examples in other Northern European nations. He emphasized that compulsory service would be considered a “last resort,” and that the focus would be on creating “an attractive service” to encourage participation.
“There are no reasons to worry, or reasons to be afraid,” Pistorius stated.”The lesson is quite clear: the more capable and defensible our armed forces are,through weaponry,training,and personnel,the lower the likelihood that we will ever become a party to a conflict - and that benefits everyone. That’s the lesson of the cold war.”
Currently, Germany maintains a uniformed military of just over 180,000 personnel. The planned expansion represents a significant increase,reflecting a broader shift in German security policy following decades of prioritizing economic strength over military might.
