Germany should prepare to bring back conscription, says army official

The head of the organization that represents Germany's armed forces personnel has called for the reintroduction of compulsory military service.

André Wüstner, from the Bundeswehr Association, said on Friday that Germany's new coalition government should start laying the groundwork now for the possible reintroduction of conscription.

In an interview with the Deutschlandfunk radio station, Wüstner also called for voluntary military service to be made more attractive in order to achieve increased NATO targets.

He expressed doubts that it would be possible to recruit up to 60,000 additional men and women for active duty on a voluntary basis alone.

He added that he could almost predict that a review would be necessary in the middle of the legislative period and that a switch to some form of compulsory military service would then be necessary.

"In the military, those who plan best get better options. Now we have to plan and prepare," Wüstner said. In view of the threats Germany faces, speed is needed to increase the number of active soldiers from 181,000 to 260,000, he argued.

The current target for the armed forces is 203,000 active soldiers, but this has not yet been achieved. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius had recently made it clear on several occasions that the voluntary nature of military service agreed by the coalition only applies if the demand can be met in this way.

The Bundeswehr Association represents the interests of soldiers and civilian employees and has around 200,000 members. On Thursday, NATO defence ministers in Brussels agreed on the largest rearmament programme since the Cold War in response to the threat posed by Russia.