Berlin prepares to return to compulsory military service

Germany is preparing to reinstate compulsory military service, reports German news agency DPA News , citing Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself. The aim will be to ensure that enough soldiers are recruited for the armed forces.

"We will probably not be able to manage the needs with the current voluntary system," he said in Berlin on Monday, acknowledging the need for "additional elements guaranteed by compulsory military service" if plans prepared by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to make military service more attractive, agreed between the SPD and the governing conservatives, do not have the desired effects.

The obligation to perform military service in Germany was lifted in 2011, and since then the German Armed Forces have been strengthening. At the moment, according to the calculations of the government in Berlin, an additional 60,000 men would be needed, quantifies DPA News, which refers to the clarity of Pistorius's statements: "The Bundeswehr must return to the center of our society. It was a mistake - as we know now more than ever - to suspend compulsory military service." The long-term goal is to form a reserve force of 200,000 soldiers.

In Portugal, where compulsory military service was abolished in 2004, data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces indicate a total of 23,678 men, including active and reserve permanent personnel.

The reintroduction of compulsory military service has been debated in several Member States, with a European survey revealing broad support for the idea in countries such as France (62%), Germany (53%) and Poland (51%). Interestingly, as reported by DPA News, some of these are, at the same time, among the biggest European opponents of increasing budgetary spending on Defence.

The idea of ​​increasing this expenditure has divided Europe and while in countries such as Poland and Denmark (70%), the United Kingdom (57%), Estonia (56%) and Portugal (54%), there is a majority that sees this military investment as necessary, less understanding are the nationals of countries such as Italy (43%), but also Germany (47%), Spain (46%), France and Hungary (45%) in supporting a solution of this type to reduce European dependence, particularly on the United States.

Germany now plans to increase defense spending to 3.5% of its budget by 2029.

The possibility of creating a nuclear-type anti-missile shield in Europe would be one of the actions financed by this increase in investment, an idea that has been cherished by Germany, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz announcing, last month, the intention to start talks with the United Kingdom and France, two European nuclear powers, with a view to exploring a joint nuclear strategy.

In a poll conducted by Forsa for the magazine Internationale Politik , cited by DPA News, two out of three Germans are in favour of building a nuclear shield in Europe (only 29% are opposed). This survey was conducted even before the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as the American military intervention and the consequent Iranian response.