Germany calls for change in approach to army formation

The German parliament (Bundestag) Commissioner for Defence Eva Högl has said that Germany will not be able to reach the required size of the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) by 2031 if the approach to the formation of the army is not changed.

The fulfilment of the goal of expanding the Bundeswehr to 203,000 soldiers by 2031 "with the measures and approaches taken so far" is doubtful, RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) quotes the commissioner.

Högl pointed to the need for additional efforts to attract young people to the army and to raise the prestige of military service. In her opinion, this primarily concerns lean processes and modern infrastructure.

According to RND, Johannes Arlt, a member of the German Social Democratic Party, was in favour of universal military service.

On July 13, Bundeswehr Inspector General Carsten Breuer said that despite requests for the public to stand with the defence establishment "in defence of freedom and security", he was not pushing for the return of conscription in the country.

In May, the Bild newspaper wrote that the German opposition bloc of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) had drafted a document outlining the prospect of recruiting foreigners.