Overview
- Government and parliamentary negotiators say they agreed on an outline for the new Wehrdienstgesetz, with faction leaders due to review it tonight and a coalition committee decision expected this week ahead of a planned December Bundestag vote and a January 1 start.
- From early 2026, all 18-year-olds will receive a questionnaire that counts toward mustering, with men required to respond and women able to do so voluntarily, and officials aim to recruit about 20,000 volunteers from the first year group.
- Beginning mid‑2027, an entire male year group—roughly 300,000—will be mustered to build a complete readiness picture, and a previously floated lottery just to select candidates for mustering has been dropped.
- Any compulsory ‘Bedarfswehrpflicht’ would require the government to formally determine a shortfall and the Bundestag to pass a separate law, with selection rules framed as fair and potentially using randomization rather than an automatic return to general conscription.
- The plan supports a long‑term personnel build‑up to around 260,000 active troops and 200,000 reservists, as debate continues with President Steinmeier urging a universal service ‘Pflichtzeit’ and the Wehrbeauftragte proposing a more positive, Sweden‑style muster experience.