Overview
- Lawmakers backed Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’s plan by 323–272 with one abstention, retaining voluntary service under a Sweden‑inspired framework.
- Administrative measures include mandatory questionnaires for young men and restored draft records, with women able to respond voluntarily.
- All males born on or after January 1, 2008 must undergo medical examinations starting July 1, 2027 to determine fitness for service.
- If volunteer numbers prove insufficient, the Bundestag can activate duty by necessity using random selection, subject to a separate parliamentary vote.
- Thousands of students demonstrated in Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Munich and other cities, as BSW leader Sara Wagenknecht labeled the law “Russian roulette” and the defense ministry cited its 260,000‑troop goal for 2035.