German conscription plan stalls after defense minister’s objections

OCTOBER 15, 2025 1:21 PM CET
BY CHRIS LUNDAY, RIXA FÜRSEN AND JASPER BENNINKBERLIN — Germany’s plan to bring back a form of conscription was derailed late Tuesday after last-minute objections from Defense Minister Boris Pistorius upended an agreement among the country’s governing parties, multiple people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

Lawmakers from the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats had spent the past week finalizing a compromise to revive military service under the Defense Service Modernization Act — a flagship project of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government to rebuild the Bundeswehr’s depleted ranks.

But several parliamentary officials said the deal was halted after Pistorius expressed concerns over key aspects of the draft during a meeting of the parliamentary group of the Social Democrats on Tuesday evening.

The plan had already faced resistance in parliament. Niklas Wagener, defense spokesperson for the opposition Greens, called it “a half-baked compromise” that blurred the line between voluntarism and obligation.

“The government can’t decide whether it wants voluntary service or duty,” he told POLITICO, adding that the lottery “amounts to bringing back conscription through the back door.”

For now, the bill is in limbo. Coalition aides said talks will likely continue, but no timeline has been set.

The defense ministry had aimed to start implementation by January, adding roughly 5,000 troops a year to reach a long-term goal of 260,000 personnel by 2030.