Overview

• The draft Wehrdienstgesetz, to be tabled this month, requires questionnaires to all 18- to 25-year-olds and primes conscription if volunteer enlistment falls short.
• The 2026 budget proposal seeks to raise defense spending from €82.7 billion to about €108 billion by 2032 and is now under legislative review.
• Bundeswehr units have started staging elements of a permanent 5,000-strong Lithuania Brigade, set to be fully operational by late 2027.
• A recent Forsa survey finds 67 percent of Germans support doubling military spending and 61 percent back a backup draft, yet only 16 percent would definitely fight.
• Soldiers report that equipment and ammunition are sufficient but identify excessive bureaucracy as a key drag on readiness and morale.