By Sabine Siebold
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany’s defence minister is confident its fractious ruling coalition can agree on a new model of military service in time for it to come into effect next year as planned, given security concerns over Russia, he told Reuters on Saturday.
The cabinet has already agreed to minister Boris Pistorius’ proposal for a new voluntary military service to help boost the number of recruits and reservists.
The plan still requires approval by German parliament, however, and it has met with resistance from lawmakers within Pistorius’ own party, the Social Democrats, and some of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives.
“Everyone is aware of the seriousness of the situation,” Pistorius said. “I am therefore confident that the law will come into force at the beginning of the year.”
MORE TROOPS TO MEET NATO TARGETS, BOLSTER DEFENCES
Pistorius last month rejected one compromise, which had put forward the idea of a conscription lottery for young men if voluntary recruitment falls short. That proposal also called for scrapping a universal medical evaluation of young men’s ability for service.
But the arbitrary nature of a lottery could frustrate younger generations, he said, and result in recruiting candidates who were not motivated.
“We must convince the younger generation with arguments instead of frustrating them,” Pistorius said. “We must make it clear to them that it is worthwhile to have a strong army that is a deterrent to states like Russia.”
Universal medical examinations, meanwhile, were necessary, he said, so that, in the event of an attack, Germany would not waste time determining “who is operationally capable as a homeland protector and who is not”.
Germany ended its previous compulsory military service programme in 2011 and has since struggled to meet troop targets.
Pistorius wants to increase the number of active soldiers from 180,000 currently to 260,000 by the early 2030s to meet new NATO force targets and strengthen Germany’s defences – part of a planned surge in military spending.
‘KAMIKAZE DRONES’: CRUCIAL TECH ON UKRAINE’S BATTLEFIELDS
Separately, Pistorius said Germany aims to finish testing the loitering munitions – so-called “kamikaze” single-use drones – of three companies by the end of this year before choosing one and submitting an order proposal to parliament.
The procurement of loitering munitions has been controversial in Germany, with some politicians associating the weapons with targeted extrajudicial killings by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
But the army is now rushing to catch up and arm itself with the technology, which has proven crucial in the war in Ukraine and is being used by both Russian and Ukrainian forces.
“At present, three companies are participating in this testing phase,” Pistorius told Reuters. “It will last until the end of the year.”
The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Germany planned to award a contract for kamikaze drones to defence start-ups Helsing and Stark as well as defence giant Rheinmetall. They would each receive a share of the contract, worth close to 300 million euros ($350 million) each, it said.
Pistorius, however, said no agreement had been reached yet.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Joe Bavier)
