Thousands of young Germans protest against the new army

The law establishing voluntary military service and opening the door to compulsory military service had been approved a few hours earlier in the Bundestag, as an almost irrelevant measure, given that the coalition of conservatives and social democrats had closed the agreement earlier. During the six months that negotiations between the government partners continued, they barely heard each other Germany Voices against.

The number of volunteer recruits has increased by 16%, in fact, through pilot projects of Recruitment. A culture of social service has begun to emerge among young people, who overwhelmingly support a year of civil service in opinion polls. But the point is to carry weapons. Laurent, who attended the demonstration, breathed, “If I had been born just one month later, I would have been affected, too.”

the New law It states that barons born from January 2008 onwards will be compulsorily conscripted. They will receive a motivation and competence questionnaire, the completion of which will be mandatory, as well as a subsequent medical examination. From there, volunteers will undergo a training period of at least six months.

At a time when the influx of volunteers is not sufficient to cover Germany’s defense needs, recruitment through a parliamentary decision and by lottery will become mandatory.

The Bundesrat still has to approve the project, but it is very likely that the law will enter into force from January 2026. Its goal is Increase the number of active soldiers From the current 183,000 to 255,000 and later to 270,000, a number expected to be reached in 2035. In addition, 200,000 reserve soldiers will be added.

It will include six months directionsand national security and guard duties, with conscripts later assigned to bolster the reserves. Some of them, more suitable or necessary because of their qualities, will nevertheless become part of the active forces, which will be combat-ready and must be trained for a longer period.

The Ministry of Defense must submit to Parliament the number of volunteers every six months starting in 2027, and based on this data, the need to move to compulsory status every six months will be determined.

Women were excluded

Women were neglected because at the time of the drafting of the German Basic Law, in 1949, the duty to defend was written in the male gender, and it was now necessary to undertake constitutional reform to open up compulsory service to females.

They can, in any case, voluntarily respond to the form and also voluntarily undergo a medical examination and perform military service. In order to attract as many people as possible to volunteer service, incentives such as a Monthly salary The total amount is about 2,600 euros, plus a subsidy for training and obtaining a driver’s licence, the average price of which in Germany is 3,000 euros.

Voluntary social services will also be available to young people who do not wish to bear arms, as a form of conscientious objection.

Thus the German army begins to accompany the intensive operation Rearmament With the personnel needed by the German army to operate the weapons. In the same week, the Arrow 3 anti-missile system became operational, making Israel the first country outside of Israel to deploy this technology.

It is a strategic landmark in German rearmament and transforms history European defense mapThe National Army adopted the mission of intercepting ballistic missiles in space, which was until now carried out by American forces at German bases.

Each Arrow 3 battery requires approximately 200 personnel German army For its full operation, between technical staff, radar operators, launch teams and logistics, the German armed forces are barely able to cover the positions of engineers and risk analysis specialists.

“Freedom of expression, freedom of demonstration, freedom of religion, and the state does not protect itself. It is something that should be done by people who are ready to defend them, not those who stay behind the garden fence waiting for others to do it,” the Defense Minister defended his project before the plenary session of the Bundestag. Boris Pistoriuswhich thus responded in advance to the main criticisms of the demonstrators.

Among the young people protesting in Republic Square in front of Parliament BerlinMany of them claimed to be Muslims because they refused to carry weapons.

“As a citizen, you should at least think about it,” he corrected, telling ABC Ali is deadThe spokesman for the Islamic Coordination Council, though, adds that “whether you ultimately decide personally for or against this matter depends on the conscience of each individual.”

“From an Islamic theological point of view, commitment to the state in which one lives is religiously necessary,” according to Meite, who insisted that “Muslims are obligated to bear responsibility towards society, which also includes service in arms if the goal is to protect and maintain peace.”

Pistorius added: “This country, this democracy, deserves it… I remind you that our German army also protects those who do not want to agree to it.”

Chairman of the Christian Democratic Defense Committee Thomas RoykampHe insisted that the decision to reactivate conscription would be made in the summer of 2027 if there were not enough enlisted volunteers at that time.

Roykamp described the law on new military service as “a political compromise between two very different political points of view” and one “accepted by the majority of Germans.”

However, the project is opened Generation gap. Although opinion polls agree that Germans over the age of 50 mostly support the new law as a national security measure, they also show that more than 60% of those under the age of 25 oppose it.