Germany Introduces Voluntary Military Service for Young Adults

Sat Dec 06 2025 15:15:30 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The Bundestag has approved a scheme targeting young adults to strengthen military readiness amid rising security concerns in Europe.

Germany's parliament has voted to implement a voluntary military service program for 18-year-olds as part of a broader strategy to bolster national defense in response to geopolitical tensions, particularly following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The program will invite young people to consider military service while facing protests from students across the nation.

Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, has voted to introduce voluntary military service, in a move aimed at boosting national defences after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It marks a significant shift in Germany's approach to its military and follows Chancellor Friedrich Merz's push to create Europe's strongest conventional army.

The change means that all 18-year-olds in Germany will be sent a questionnaire from January 2026 asking if they are interested and willing to join the armed forces. The form will be mandatory for men and voluntary for women.

Students at schools across Germany have said they will join strikes in as many as 90 cities on Friday to protest against the move.

Many young Germans either oppose the new law or are sceptical. We don't want to spend half a year of our lives locked up in barracks, being trained in drill and obedience and learning to kill, the organisers of the protests wrote in a statement posted on social media. War offers no prospects for the future and destroys our livelihoods.

In Hamburg alone, about 1,500 people were expected to join the protests, and school head teachers warned parents not to take their children out of school for the day.

German MPs voted by 323 votes to 272 to back the change, making their country the latest European country to launch some form of revised military service. Last month, France said it was introducing 10 months of voluntary military training for 18- and 19-year-olds.

The government says military service will be voluntary for as long as possible, but from July 2027, all 18-year-old men will have to take a medical exam to assess their fitness for potential military service.

Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, currently have around 182,000 service personnel, and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to increase that number by 20,000 over the next year. The long-term aim is to raise the number by the early 2030s to 260,000, supplemented by approximately 200,000 reservists.

While the plan is for voluntary service, if the security situation worsens or if too few volunteers come forward, a form of compulsory military service could be considered by the Bundestag.

Nato countries have come under pressure from US President Donald Trump's White House to increase their spending on defence.

Incentives for voluntary service are relatively high, with a promised salary of about €2,600 a month.