Germany considers reintroducing military service - Draft law provides for mandatory registration, conscription if necessary
The lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, has begun considering a bill to overhaul the country's military service model. The German federal cabinet approved the draft military service law in August, which provides for measures for mandatory registration and evaluation.
According to the draft law, this service will remain voluntary. However, the government can make it mandatory with the approval of the Bundestag, if the security situation worsens or if voluntary recruitment proves insufficient.
The bill also reinstates compulsory conscription. All German males, once they turn 18, will have to complete an online questionnaire about their willingness and ability to serve in the military. Germany suspended compulsory military service in 2011, and since then the German army (Bundeswehr) has been transformed into an all-volunteer force.
During the first reading of the bill, the main debate focused on a lottery system. The conservative CDU/CSU bloc had previously proposed compulsory conscription through lottery in the event of a shortage of troops, a measure that was strongly opposed by the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Meanwhile, the Green Party and the Left Party criticized the bill as hasty and without consensus, calling for a waiver from any form of compulsory military service.
Germany's Federal President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, also expressed doubts about the lottery system, saying that "the future of young people cannot be decided by lottery." Some citizens believe that the possible reform of military service is being influenced by the United States and NATO.
"We should educate our children and teenagers, investing in education, instead of constantly rearming them. All this is because of NATO and its leading power, the United States. They demand that Germany increase its armed forces," said a former member of the German Bundestag.
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