Germany has set itself the goal of building “the most powerful army in Europe”. The government of the Chancellor Friedrich Merz has put in place a mega plan of billionaire investments, also approving a constitutional reform to eliminate the stringent state spending limits, to buy modern armaments to make the Bundeswehr One of the most modern armed forces in the world.
But the weapons, however important, are not enough. Men are needed to fight. And for this Berlin has launched an enrollment program that aims to increase the army files by another 60 thousand units. “We believe, but it is only an approximate estimate, that we will need about 50 thousand-60 thousand more soldiers in the armed forces,” said defense minister Boris Pistorius.
Objective: 203 thousand soldiers
The representative of the Berlin government is in Brussels for a NATO ministerial, in which the request for the secretary general, Mark Rutte, and above all of the President of the United States Donald Trump, will be discussed, to bring the costs for the defense to 5 percent of their gross domestic product, of which 3.5 percent should be consisting exclusively of military expenses.
Germany wants to build the most powerful army in Europe
For Germany, the largest European economy, achieving the target of 3 percent of GDP already represents an additional budget effort of around 125 billion euros per year, explained Pistorius. In 2024, the Bundeswehr had more than 180 thousand soldiers and now the goal is to exceed 203 thousand by 2031.
The challenge of recruitment
But finding men and women willing to wear the uniform is not so simple. Despite an ambitious advertising campaign, the German army struggles to recruit personal.
For this reason Pistorius wants to pass a reform that provides for the registration of young people at the age of 18, to identify potential candidates for military service. The minister said he focused “initially on voluntary participation”, but has not excluded elements of coercion if there are not enough candidates.
According to the reform presented by the last government (of the center -left, led by Olaf Scholz and in which the Social Democrat Pistorius was already Minister of Defense), young people will have to respond to a questionnaire on their interest in entering the army and their physical condition.
The questionnaire is mandatory for men and optional for women. Then the potential candidates will be summoned for a mandatory questionnaire and a medical examination, a bit like “three days” in Italy, when there was mandatory military service. A number of people will then be invited to participate in a selection process. Some would be hired for an initial six -month period, with the possibility of extension.
The return of the lever?
But Pistorius admitted that the plans for a more proactive voluntary recruitment system may not be enough to fill the gap while Germany adapts to a war structure and that compulsory conscription, which was eliminated in the country in 2011, could be necessary at a certain point.
In Germany the (almost) mandatory lever returns
But at the moment, the minister said, “it is not useful at all because we do not have the ability in the barracks or in training”. “This is why these skills must grow”, he continued, underlining that “until then voluntary participation is worth”.
