Berlin – You can still do it! After the agreement on the end of citizenship benefits for Ukrainian refugees, now the next deal in the coalition: The dispute over the new military service law, which has been going on for months, has been resolved – the Union and SPD factions have resolved their differences with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in the evening, according to BILD information.
Main results according to BILD information:
▶︎ All young men in one year must gather in the future! If there were not enough volunteers for military service among those deemed “fit for military service,” a draw would be held to see who would join the federal government!
The double lottery system is no longer in effect and collecting begins. The Union and the SPD initially agreed to this in the Bundestag – much to the minister’s displeasure. Therefore, a draw must first be drawn as to who from this year should gather – and if there are not enough volunteers, a draw must be held.
The parliamentary group will be informed of the agreement at 8am on Thursday morning. Then press.
CSU lawmaker Thomas Erndl (51), who negotiates military service for the Union, had indicated on Monday: “If the number of volunteers, an increase in reserves or a growth path for those on active duty is not achieved in the long term, it will eventually be necessary to have mandatory recruitment based on the needs of the armed forces.”
Pistorius must present a clear personnel plan
But this will only partially end the dispute between ministers and government factions. According to unconfirmed information from faction circles, Pistorius is said to have given in to the government faction’s demands for good personnel planning (“troop growth”) for the Bundeswehr.
It remained unclear on the evening what other points were agreed by parliamentary groups on the one hand and ministers on the other – for example regarding Pistorius planned short-term super soldier. They must undergo minimal training for building security with no combat training. The Union in particular accused Pistorius of wanting to manipulate the statistics of the new army with guard soldiers.
In the original bill SPD And CDU/CSU A four-step plan was devised: First, the young men were to volunteer for military service. If there are not enough volunteers, a lottery system should be used to collect them. Then a lottery must be held as to who will ultimately be drafted.
However, Pistorius rejected this concept out of anger at a meeting of the SPD parliamentary group in mid-October – he felt ignored. Since then, a four-person team of defense politicians from the government faction has been negotiating again: Siemtje Möller (42) and Falko Droßmann (51) for the SPD, and Norbert Röttgen (60) and Thomas Erndl (51) for the Union. The conversation continues.
Pistorius assumes that between 3,000 and 5,000 additional military service members will be needed per year starting in 2026.
