This was the second attempt by the two government parties to reach an agreement, after the first failed.
The parties that make up the German government have reached agreement on the new military recruitment model, one of the most controversial issues in the planned defense reforms.
the Christian Democrats of the CDU and the Social Democrats of the SPD defined a new model that provides for all citizens who turn 18 to be formally registered to serve in the armed forces, and which establishes the return of mandatory medical examination for all men who reach the age of majority.
This was the two parties’ second attempt to reach an agreement, after the first failed.
In the previous version, the model provided for the automatic recruitment of citizens when the number of volunteers was insufficient, a situation that led to a confrontation between the two parties. The model to be introduced replaces automatic recruitment with a German “needs-based service duty” that can only begin after a vote in parliament. In other words, only after the ‘yes’ of the Bundestag deputies can citizens be summoned.
If MPs vote on conscription, the German Armed Forces would choose a certain number of recruits through a “structured process”, says Politico, with a lottery as a last resort.
The proposal also includes new incentives for volunteers, such as a base salary of 2600 euros per month.
