German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius struggled to explain his point for several days. A provision in the new Military Service Act, which took effect on January 1, appears to require men between the ages of 17 and 45 to notify the German military, or Bundeswehr, before going on a trip abroad longer than three months.
Although this provision took several months to emerge, the outcry was immense: If military service in Germany is voluntary then why did the Bundeswehr want men to request permission to leave the country?
Pistorius clarified the situation this week. “Everyone is allowed to travel, whether they are 17, 45 or anywhere in between, and no permission is currently required,” he told German press agency dpa. The Social Democrats said an administrative regulation would be issued this week to remove any doubts.
No one paid attention to the new rules on foreign travel
At first, this rule went unnoticed. Even the Defense Ministry did not bother to publicly state or explain the new requirement. it was not until Frankfurter Rundschau After the newspaper published this news, uncertainty began to spread: how to get approval before staying abroad for a long period of time? Are there penalties for non-compliance?
The parliamentary opposition drew sharp criticism, arguing that the Military Service Act was poorly drafted, and that the requirement to notify authorities before traveling abroad is a gross infringement on the right to personal autonomy.
Britta Hasselmann, chair of the Green Party parliamentary group, criticized the regulation as ill-conceived and said it jeopardized public support for the new military service law.
Desiree Becker, vice-chair of the Socialist Left party’s parliamentary group in the Bundestag, said: “What Boris Pistorius and his ministry have put forward here is a display of incompetence. Anyone who wants to send young people into the ditch to defend the so-called ‘fatherland’ should at least be able to present a legally correct bill.”
For its part, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) derided “anarchy over men’s travel abroad”.
Legal experts: Major violation of fundamental rights
Politicians specializing in defense policy sought prompt clarification from Pistorius, who had apparently underestimated the furious reactions to the controversial regulation. He now emphasizes that he wants to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy caused by reporting requirements.
“We are suspending the need for approval as long as military service remains voluntary,” he said, before adding that the regulation was designed only to prepare for emergency situations.
According to ARD legal expert Frank Brut, the latest amendment was not a concession by the ministry, but a legal obligation. Requiring mandatory authorization to travel abroad without restoring membership would be a gross infringement on the fundamental rights of the youth.
return to military recruitment
The controversial regulation is a result of Germany’s recent return to a type of partial military service, which involves the systematic collection of data on all men of military age. Military service with a civilian national service option existed in Germany until 2011, but that data was no longer collected.
The new Military Service Act offers a solution: from the beginning of the year, all young men born in 2008 or later are now required to appear for a physical examination by the Bundeswehr, the data of which will be stored by the Ministry of Defense.
Requiring potential recruits to report prior to an extended stay abroad helps further this objective. Since, under the German constitution, only men can be conscripted for military service, only their data is collected, although women can voluntarily enlist.
Bundeswehr wants more volunteers
The aim of the reformed military service is to recruit new personnel for the Bundeswehr. Through a combination of requirements and incentives, the Army aims to attract more volunteers, and since the beginning of the year, new recruits now receive significantly better pay than before. Those who commit for at least 12 months also receive assistance towards the cost of a driver’s license, which can cost several thousand euros.
Pistorius is counting on proposals that are combined with a certain degree of obligation: as well as a physical examination, all 18-year-old males must now fill out a questionnaire indicating whether they are interested in serving in the Bundeswehr.
Currently, more than 13,000 people are voluntarily serving in the army or have signed up as “short-term soldiers” for a maximum of 23 months. The Defense Ministry announced in mid-March that this represents a 15% increase over the previous year.
But it remains to be seen whether the increase in volunteer numbers will be enough to meet the country’s ambitious recruitment targets. The possibility of a return to compulsory military service remains.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wants to carry out an evaluation “by 2027” to determine whether enough volunteers are signing up for the new military service. If the numbers are insufficient, “we will have no choice but to discuss compulsory service in the Bundeswehr,” Merz said in the Bundestag in December.
Many young people are not waiting to see if this happens: the number of people applying for conscientious objection is constantly increasing. It is set to reach its highest level in 2025 since the suspension of military service in 2011.
This article was translated from German.