No Compulsory Service Talks This Legislative Stint: Matthias Miersch
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No proposals for mandatory military service during the current legislative term. - No discussion or mention of mandatory military service during this time period.
In an interview with the "New Osnabrücker Zeitung" (NOZ), SPD parliamentary leader Matthias Miersch confirmed there'd be no talks about compulsory military service during the current parliamentary period. "The coalition agreement highlights our commitment to voluntarism," Miersch said. "We'll discuss conscription in the subsequent legislative period, but not this one."
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, also from the SPD, has stated the need for 60,000 additional soldiers to meet NATO's enhanced defense capability targets. However, according to Miersch, currently, there aren't enough training facilities available.
Parliamentary ombudsman for the armed forces, Henning Otte (CDU), suggested a potential return of mandatory military service. Otte mentioned that protecting troops from overexertion was crucial and highlighted his intention to push for a reevaluation of the issue in 2023.
Bundeswehr Association chief André Wüstner advised the black-red coalition to consider reinstating compulsory military service to make the voluntary service more appealing. Wüstner expressed doubts about reaching the increased recruitment figures using voluntarism alone.
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Make Bundeswehr Service More Attractive
During the conversation, Miersch emphasized the key issue was making the service appealing. "Equipment limitations made it impossible to make the service attractive anyway," he noted. Defense Minister Pistorius now has the opportunity to attract young people with new investments, Miersch added.
Committee chairman advocates for general military service obligation
CDU defense committee chairman Thomas Röwekamp supported the introduction of a general service obligation for men and women. Röwekamp argued that only 10,000 of the 700,000 school-leavers choose military service, and the rest should serve to strengthen national defense and social cohesion. Alternatives include military, social, or civil society service areas.
Matthias Miersch - Military Service - Legislative Period - Social Democratic Party (SPD) - Defense - Federal Defense Force (Bundeswehr) - Christian Democratic Union (CDU) - Boris Pistorius - Federal Parliament (Bundestag) - André Wüstner - Berlin - Coalition Agreement - Men - Women - New Osnabrücker Zeitung - New OZ - Henning Otte
In-depth Information
- Military Readiness: Germany faces a shortage of up to 60,000 soldiers[1], and some believe compulsory military service could address this issue[1][5].
- Political Landscape: The Social Democratic Party (SPD) supports voluntarism, while the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) favors conscription. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) supports a volunteer-based force[1][5].
- Legislative Progress: A proposal for a new military service act is being developed, with a possible effective date of January 2026. If the volunteer system fails to achieve targets, compulsory recruitment could become law[4][5].
- Public Opinion: There's increasing support for national service, yet public opinion remains divided on the issue[5].
- The policy-and-legislation regarding the potential reinstatement of compulsory military service is a topic of ongoing debate in the politics surrounding defense and the Bundeswehr, with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) advocating for voluntarism and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) pushing for conscription.
- To make Bundeswehr service more appealing and potentially increase recruitment numbers, MP Matthias Miersch emphasized the importance of infrastructure investment, highlighting vocational training as a crucial aspect for improving service attractiveness within the current legislative period.
