Overview

• The Council of Ministers cleared the bill and sent it to the Bundestag for debate and approval.
• Initial intake targets about 15,000 volunteers next year for a minimum six‑month term, primarily for ages 18 to 25.
• Starting in 2026, all 18‑plus will receive a questionnaire—mandatory for men and optional for women—with medical fitness checks for men to be reinstated, reported as beginning in either 2027 or 2028.
• Conscripts would be paid like temporary soldiers, with reports citing more than €2,000 net per month plus free care, driver’s licenses and other benefits.
• The draft allows the government to order conscription by decree outside a formal defence state, subject to Bundestag approval, as officials seek roughly 80,000 more active troops and a much larger reserve reaching up to about 200,000.