Overview

• In the first parliamentary reading, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he is open to revisions as the Wehrdienst bill moves through the legislative process.
• The plan would start a new voluntary service next year, with muster participation voluntary initially and compulsory for all 18-year-olds from July 2027.
• Pistorius favors relying on volunteers but said mandatory service would follow if numbers prove insufficient, triggered only by a Bundestag decision with criteria still to be set.
• The opposition Union demanded fixed recruitment targets and an automatic mechanism to reinstate conscription and proposed a lottery to muster only part of each age cohort.
• A compromise to add a lottery was halted earlier this week after Pistorius objected to the absence of a nationwide muster from mid-2027, and committee work will now continue.