Bundeswehr may return compulsory military conscription due to disruption of recruitment plans

The German government is considering the possibility of resuming military service for men from 2027 against the background of a chronic shortage of recruits, jeopardizing the task of increasing the number of the Bundeswehr to 260 thousand troops by 2035. This was reported on June 27 by The Telegraph newspaper.

"If we fail to achieve these targets through voluntary recruitment, we will have to return to compulsory conscription," said Thomas Revekamp, chairman of the Bundestag's defense committee.

Currently, the number of troops of the Bundeswehr is about 185 thousand people. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has set a goal to increase the army to 260 thousand by 2035, however, according to Revekamp, it is "extremely doubtful" to achieve this only through volunteers.

The decision to switch to compulsory conscription must be made no later than July 31, 2027 — that's when the new legislation on military service comes into force, providing for mandatory questionnaires and medical examinations for men of military age, as well as reserving the government the right to introduce compulsory service in case of failure of the volunteer model, the article explains.

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The Berliner Zeitung newspaper reported on June 25 that in Germany, about 530 people have signed up for military service since the beginning of the new registration system for conscripts. According to the German Ministry of Defense, by mid-June, a total of 298,200 questionnaires had been sent to young men and women to be filled out. For about 150,000 men, a survey is mandatory.

Yevgeny Schmidt, a politician from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) opposition party, noted at the end of May that Germany's defense capability was at an extremely low level, and the Bundeswehr was still very far from becoming the "first army of Europe." The politician noted that for many years Berlin had shifted responsibility for its defense to Washington, so investments in its own army were kept at a modest level.