This year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to build Europe’s strongest military. This is a difficult task for a country whose military has been neglected for many years.
The coalition hopes that new legislation agreed last week will make this a reality and help strengthen Germany’s military in the face of a major shift in Russian threat perception and US foreign policy.
Under the sweeping new reforms, Germany will increase its number of soldiers from around 180,000 now to 260,000 by 2035, and add 200,000 to its reservists.
Initially, the initiative will focus on voluntary enlistment, with increased incentives for those joining the military, including a monthly starting salary of 2,600 euros (approximately $3,000), an increase of 450 euros over the current level.
If the new capacity is not met, the government will have the option of compulsory convocation if necessary.
Starting next year, all 18-year-olds will receive a survey regarding their interest in service. For men, this answer is mandatory. From 2027, medical examinations will become compulsory for men aged 18.
It comes as the Trump administration warns that Europe must take responsibility for its own security, Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to escalate, and regional experts suggest Russia could next invade the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member state.
Minna Ohlander, an associate fellow in the Europe program at London-based think tank Chatham House, believes Germany could play an important role in the conventional defense of Europe due to its central geographical location.
“It would be great for Europe if the plan to reach new headcount levels materializes, but that will probably be sometime in the 2030s,” he said.
Whether this is fast enough remains to be seen.
German Defense Secretary General Carsten Breuer said in an interview with the BBC in June that NATO needed to prepare for a possible Russian attack within the next four years, possibly as early as 2029, and urged member states to prepare.
Ahead of the new bill, coalition partners the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the centre-left Social Democratic Union (SPD) had been engaged in a weeks-long dispute over what kind of military service should be introduced. One idea was a “lottery conscription,” in which young people would be randomly selected to undergo medical examinations and then called up for military service.
The proposal was eventually withdrawn by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said enlistment should instead focus on incentives such as better pay and other financial compensation.
Germany previously had compulsory military service for men between the ages of 18 and 23, but this was suspended in 2011 and an all-volunteer military system was introduced.
The deal must be approved by the German parliament (Bundestag), with lawmakers expected to vote on it by the end of the year. If this happens, it will come into effect on January 1, 2026.
SPD’s Pistorius welcomed the move while seeking to reassure those affected. After last week’s announcement of the deal, he said there was “no reason to be concerned, no reason to fear.”
“Because the lesson is very clear: The more deterrence and defense capabilities our armed forces have through arming, training and personnel, the less likely they are to become involved in conflict at all.”
Pistorius suggested Berlin’s new military system could serve as a model for other European allies. “Everyone sees what we’re doing,” he said.
“I am in close contact with[French Prime Minister]Sébastien Lecorne and his successor, and of course with the UK and other countries. … And our new conscription model is very modern. Very modern. And could it be an example for other countries as well? I don’t know, but it could be.”
However, the change remains controversial, especially with many on Germany’s political left opposed to reintroducing compulsory conscription. A Forsa poll published by Die Welt newspaper in October, before the reforms were announced, showed that 80% of voters in Germany’s left-wing Die Linke party opposed the idea.
However, Ohlander believes that given the size of Germany’s population, it is not unrealistic to achieve a spot without resorting to a mandatory call-up.
“If governments and militaries can significantly improve perceptions of the military and motivate young people to start considering military service as a ‘normal’ option, then voluntary participation alone could achieve the goal,” she told CNN.
But he added: “My concern is that if military service is imposed on a skeptical population, even more young people could be pushed to the far right or far left.”
It is clear that young Germans do not want to be subject to forced conscription. A 17-year-old boy who spoke to CNN said he recognized the importance of Germany defending itself, but expressed doubts about Germany’s desire to fight.
“Of course, it’s important to be able to defend yourself. But that’s why we’re in the NATO alliance. … I love Germany. I’m not saying I want to fight for this country now. … I’m thinking of a different life than being at war,” he said.
Leonid Bekzyarov, 21, supported increased investment in the German military. “It became too soft and ignored,” he says.
However, he too had doubts about the idea of forced conscription. “I also think it’s terrible that[Russia]attacked Ukraine. But I’m definitely against war and it’s good to strengthen the military a little bit – the money is already earmarked for that – but I think it’s wrong to now require everyone to serve in the military and have to go there.”
Others who spoke to CNN expressed concern that their education would be wasted if called upon.
Official statistics also provide insight into public opinion in Germany. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the number of applications for conscientious objectors has increased sharply, especially as discussions of reinstating conscription intensify. Government records show 3,034 people applied for that recognition from the start of the year to Oct. 25, the highest number since compulsory military service was suspended in 2011.
The German military, or Bundeswehr, has been chronically underfunded since the Cold War.
For three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, military spending remained at less than 2 percent of the country’s GDP, or below NATO targets, amid a lack of perceived threat, a taboo on German military power, and a strong Nazi-era pacifist national consciousness.
Then, in 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. This led to a major change in the country’s outlook, amid calls to “prepare for war” within Europe. Then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared a “Zeitenwende,” or “period of change,” leading to the creation of a 100 billion euro ($116 billion) special fund to modernize the Bundeswehr.
In June 2024, Germany put aside its misgivings about its military past and celebrated its first Veterans Day since World War II, with a new law stipulating that the day should be celebrated “publicly and visibly” on June 15 every year.
This shift in attitude has deepened since Merz took office earlier this year, when the new chancellor not only promised to transform Germany’s military into “Europe’s strongest conventional army,” but also pledged to double defense spending to meet new NATO goals.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin only understands the language of power,” Merz said at the time.
