Germany agrees to keep military service voluntary

Germany's coalition government has agreed on a new voluntary military service model, politicians said Thursday, after weeks of wrangling over whether there should be a compulsory element.

From next year, all 18-year-old men will have to fill in a questionnaire on whether they would want to serve and undergo an armed forces physical test, if the plan is adopted.

No one will be compelled to join the Bundeswehr, said Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who has advocated for making military service more attractive to draw more recruits.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made bolstering Germany's ill-equipped military a major priority, citing a hostile Russia and doubts about future U.S. security commitment to Europe.

He has moved to sharply increase spending on the military and vowed to turn the German armed forces into "the strongest conventional army in Europe."

The cabinet approved a revamped military service model in August, spearheaded by Pistorius of the centre-left SPD.

But members of Merz's conservative CDU/CSU then called for a compulsory element in the form of a "draft lottery" to be applied if there were not enough volunteers.

The lottery idea has been scrapped for now, part of a deal reached late Wednesday, said Jens Spahn, leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary faction.

"If voluntary service is ultimately not enough, then compulsory service will also be necessary," Spahn said, adding, however, that that would require further legislation.

Matthias Miersch, the SPD's parliamentary group leader, said he was certain the Bundeswehr could find enough volunteers, calling the new model "an offer" to young men and women, "not an obligation."

AFP