Overview

• Current volunteer ranks stand at about 181,000, missing the 203,000 target and leaving Germany 50,000 to 60,000 troops short of NATO requirements.
• CDU leader Jens Spahn has urged creation of barracks, equipment, trainers and legislative triggers to reintroduce mandatory service if volunteer enlistment fails.
• Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warns that the Bundeswehr currently lacks the infrastructure for conscription and is prioritizing expanded voluntary recruitment.
• BSW chair Sahra Wagenknecht proposes a binding vote among under-30s and a paid civil society year as alternatives to obligatory military service.
• Corporate representatives such as Gesamtmetall head Oliver Zander argue that only reinstated conscription can meet both peacetime growth and wartime endurance goals.