Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, voted to introduce voluntary military service, in a move aimed at bolstering national defenses after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It marks a significant change in Germany’s approach to its military and follows Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s drive to create the strongest conventional army in Europe.
The change means that all 18-year-olds in Germany will be sent a questionnaire from January 2026 asking them 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 up to 90 cities on Friday to protest the measure.
Many young Germans are opposed to the new law or are skeptical.
“We do not want to spend half a year of our lives locked in barracks, training in drill and obedience and learning to kill,” protest organizers wrote in a statement posted on social media.
“War offers no prospects for the future and destroys our livelihoods.”
In Hamburg alone, some 1,500 people were expected to join the protests, and school principals warned parents not to take their children out of school during the day.
German parliamentarians voted 323 to 272 in favor of 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 starting in July 2027, all 18-year-old men will be required to undergo a medical examination to assess their suitability for possible military service.
Universal medical examinations are necessary, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, so that in the event of an attack, Germany does not waste time determining “who is operationally capable as protector of the homeland and who is not.”
The German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, currently have around 182,000 troops, and Pistorius wants to increase that number by 20,000 over the next year.
The long-term goal is to increase numbers by the early 2030s to 260,000, supplemented by approximately 200,000 reservists, to meet new NATO force objectives and strengthen Germany’s defenses.
While the plan is voluntary service, if the security situation worsens or too few volunteers show up, the Bundestag could consider a form of conscription.
If war broke out, the military could resort to questionnaires and medical examinations of potential recruits.
Like other European countries, Germany dismantled its armed forces during the peace years of the 1990s. During the Cold War it had an army of almost half a million people.
Conscription in Germany ended in 2011 under former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
But now, faced with perceived threats from Russia and strong pressure from Germany’s traditional ally the United States, Friedrich Merz has pledged to rebuild the Bundeswehr into the strongest conventional army in Europe.
NATO countries have come under pressure from US President Donald Trump’s White House to increase their defense spending.
The incentives for volunteer service are relatively high, with a promised salary of around 2,600 euros per month. In France, volunteers will be paid at least €800 (£700) a month.
The Bundestag will also vote on Friday on a controversial pension reform bill, which will keep state pensions at current levels until 2031.
The bill is a key pillar of the coalition deal between Merz’s conservatives and their centre-left partner, the Social Democrats, who have only a narrow governing majority of just 12 votes.
However, there were doubts about whether it would pass in the parliamentary vote, as younger members of Merz’s conservatives threatened to revolt. They say the plan is financially unsustainable and will leave younger generations to shoulder the burden.
But Germany’s far-left opposition party said it would abstain from voting, meaning the coalition needs fewer votes to pass it and therefore will not have to worry about potential rebels from its own ranks.
A government crisis may have been narrowly avoided.
