Overview

• The draft is due for cabinet review next month and requires explicit parliamentary approval to activate compulsory service.
• Starting in 2026, all 18-year-old men must complete a mandatory readiness and willingness questionnaire while participation remains voluntary for women.
• From 2028, those cohorts will undergo compulsory medical fitness assessments regardless of expressed enlistment interest.
• The defence ministry expects 15,000 new recruits in 2025 and plans to scale annual enlistments to 40,000 by 2031 to expand the Bundeswehr.
• The measures address chronic shortfalls in a force of about 180,000 active soldiers and 49,000 reservists and respond to assessments that Russia could threaten NATO from 2029.