BERLIN — Germany’s conservatives are not giving up on conscription.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved a sweeping reform of military service, requiring 18-year-old men to register in a new selection system while keeping actual service voluntary.
Those who choose to sign up — typically for a half-year stint, with the option to extend up to 23 months — will be offered more generous pay and training options. The move was presented as a way to strengthen the armed forces without reinstating compulsory service, in line with the coalition agreement between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats.
But inside Merz’s own conservative bloc, lawmakers are preparing to reopen the debate. The party aims to introduce changes when the bill comes before parliament for its first reading between Oct. 8 and 10, according to Thomas Erndl, MP and spokesperson for defense policy in Merz’s Christian Democratic bloc.
“We cannot risk a situation where targets are missed and nothing happens — there has to be a mechanism that guarantees the numbers we need,” said Erndl. “That’s why the law needs to be changed.”
Under the government’s draft law, agreed Wednesday, compulsory service could only be reinstated if the Bundestag voted for it. Conservatives want to go further: Their proposal would create an automatic trigger — if recruitment targets are missed, conscription would return without another parliamentary decision.
That would mark a sharp break with the government’s position. Merz told reporters after the Cabinet session: “If over the next one, two or three years we see that the target numbers are not reached … then we will adjust.” But he dismissed the idea of a self-executing clause: “That would be very odd, because we are talking about conscription that would have to be reintroduced. And that in any case requires deliberation.”
Cabinet approval is the first step of Germany’s legislative process, with every bill subsequently going through several readings in the Bundestag. In the first reading, committees vet the details and lawmakers can formally table amendments.
Those votes decide whether a bill changes course or survives intact. For the conservatives, it is the last procedural window to press for a tougher line on service obligations.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who has made troop growth his top priority, warned of practical bottlenecks: “We all want the buildup very quickly. But the two main factors are bases and training. We lack barracks and we lack training capacity.”
The government’s plan is to entice recruits with higher pay — up from roughly €1,500 net a month under current voluntary military service schemes — to €2,300 net a month, along with skills training such as IT or driving licenses. After service, recruits could move straight into the reserve.
Still, conservatives argue that without a fail-safe, the law risks becoming symbolic.
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