Germany’s Pistorius: Military service plans serve as deterrent

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Friday defended his military service plans as necessary for Germany’s security.

The proposal aims to establish and guarantee the country’s defence capability, said Pistorius in the Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament.

“It’s not about armament,” he said. “We are not threatening anyone. We are being threatened.”

Pistorius said that Russia under President Vladimir Putin poses a real threat to Germany, Europe and the NATO alliance.

Putin is trying to undermine the integrity of European states and divide societies.

“He wants to provoke NATO member states and does so almost every day,” said the defence minister.

The remarks came one day after Pistorius presented his bill in the Bundestag to restore a voluntary military service.

Military service in Germany was suspended in 2011, but Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government is intent on reintroducing the measure to raise troops for the Bundeswehr, the German military, in line with new NATO defence targets.

However, there is disagreement within Merz’s coalition on how to respond if not enough volunteers sign up for the programme, with the chancellor’s conservative bloc pushing for a lottery system.

“We need to know who can defend our country,” Pistorius said on Friday. “The focus must always remain on the Bundeswehr’s ability to react and deploy.”

The new military service would make combat missions less likely for all soldiers overall, explained Pistorius.

“The stronger we are, in terms of personnel and equipment, the more capable we are of defence, the more effective – and that’s what it’s all about in the end – we are a deterrent.”