'Fully committed to peace': Is it time to bring back conscription in Germany?
Calls to reinstate compulsory military service are growing louder in Berlin's political circles. But is drafting thousands of 18-year-olds the answer to Germany's defence challenges?
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/27/fully-committed-to-peace-is-it-time-to-bring-back-conscription-in-germany
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Calls to reinstate compulsory military service are growing louder in Berlin's political circles. But is drafting thousands of 18-year-olds the answer to Germany's defence challenges?
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/27/fully-committed-to-peace-is-it-time-to-bring-back-conscription-in-germany
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Germany has recently approved a historic bill unlocking a record level of state borrowing
00:06for defense and infrastructure.
00:08The debate has now shifted back to conscription.
00:10But what would reinstating the mandatory military service look like and how could it solve Germany's
00:15defense problem?
00:16Introduced in 1956 and mandatory until 2011, conscription was suspended to downside the
00:23Bundeswehr.
00:24But in light of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the shifting security landscape
00:28in Europe, the German military is now set to expand again.
00:33This raises the question, would bringing back conscription actually strengthen Germany's
00:37military and is it even feasible?
00:58Right now, there is neither a consensus nor a structured debate in Germany about the purpose
01:14of conscription.
01:44Under current German law, only the previous conscription model, suspended in 2011, can
01:54be reinstated.
01:56Any attempt to modernize or change it would require a parliamentary majority.
02:01Whether such a majority exists remains uncertain.
02:11According to the latest surveys, only a few Germans are willing to defend their country
02:14with arms.
02:16Accordingly, the new federal government will also face the great challenge of motivating
02:22young people for the military service, in addition to the logistical problems.
02:25Johanna Urbanschik at the Bundeswehr in Munster for Euronews.