German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will present his plans for a new military service model on Wednesday.
After briefing parliament’s defense committee, he plans to explain his proposals at a press conference in the afternoon.
Pistorius has indicated that he supports some form of compulsory military service, at least to a limited extent, a controversial issue in Germany.
The country effectively abolished mandatory military service for men in 2011 after 55 years, although German law still provides for possible conscription in the event of war or other tensions.
The German army has suffered from manpower shortages in recent years, shrinking to 181,500 soldiers last year despite new efforts to recruit volunteers.
Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine led to a reckoning over the state of Germany’s depleted army and a pledge from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government to rebuild the armed forces.
Pistorius ordered research into different models of conscription. During a debate in the House of Representatives, the minister indicated that he does not believe that Germany can rely entirely on volunteers for military service.
