Overview

• CDU’s Norbert Röttgen insisted Europe is no longer at peace and backed a voluntary service starting in 2026, with parliament to consider compulsory measures only if recruitment falls short.
• Ines Schwerdtner of Die Linke warned of conscription "through the back door" and said poorer youths would be pushed into service, a claim Carlo Masala and Bundeswehr deputy chief Nicole Schilling disputed.
• Journalist Özge İnan criticized planned survey questions for 18‑year‑olds as intrusive, while Röttgen said no final questionnaire exists and the law is still in parliament, with one draft discussed allowing male musterung from July 1, 2027 if needed.
• Schilling defended established NATO air‑defence procedures and said the Bundeswehr will introduce armed small drones and other counter‑drone measures this year to close capability gaps.
• Two young guests advocated a gender‑equal compulsory civic year as an alternative, an idea Röttgen supports in principle but which would require a two‑thirds majority that Die Linke says it will not back.