Germany may have to reinstate military conscription as early as July 2027 due to the volunteer-based recruitment system failing to meet its ambitious military buildup goals, according to senior lawmaker Thomas Rowekamp.
Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Germany has pursued a major recruitment drive aiming to increase active soldiers from 186,000 to 260,000 and an additional 200,000 reservists by the mid-2030s. This effort is framed as a response to perceived Russian threats.
Late last year, the German Parliament passed the Military Service Modernization Act, requiring all 18-year-old males to register for potential service through a medical checkup and questionnaire. While individuals may state they have no interest in military service, the law allows for conscription via lottery if manpower shortages arise.
However, recruitment numbers have been dismal: only 530 people volunteered for military service from January to May among approximately 300,000 Germans who completed registration forms.
Rowekamp, who leads the parliament’s defense committee and represents Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stated that Germany will need to have “a very fundamental discussion” about achieving its growth targets on a voluntary basis. He expressed “serious doubts that we can.”
The lawmaker emphasized that if recruitment goals are not met, the government must “return to conscription” by July 31 of next year.
The proposed policy has sparked significant youth opposition across Germany, with thousands participating in a Berlin-based “School strike against the draft” and similar demonstrations in other cities earlier this year.
Germany abolished its military draft in 2011. Senior officials, including Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, have recently advocated for reinstating conscription to prepare for potential Russian aggression, citing that Russia could attack a NATO member as early as 2028. Chancellor Merz has also announced plans to transform the German army into the strongest conventional force in the EU.
Meanwhile, Moscow has dismissed claims of an impending threat from Russia as “nonsense” and has suggested providing written guarantees that it has no plans to attack them. President Vladimir Putin said last week that Western nations are openly preparing for war with Russia while using claims about the “Russian threat” to justify their sweeping militarization. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that Germany and the wider EU are sliding into a “Fourth Reich” with their military buildup.
