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Röwekamp: Military service reform faces crucial questions!
The Defense Committee will debate the new military service on November 11, 2025, while there are unresolved questions about recruitment and attractiveness.
Röwekamp: Military service reform faces crucial questions!
November 11, 2025 will be dedicated to the new military service in Germany. In current statements, Thomas Röwekamp, the chairman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, highlights the outstanding questions that need to be clarified before the coalition can reach an agreement. As fränkischerTag.de reports, he expects these questions to be answered by the upcoming coalition committee on Thursday.
The Union has recently moved away from the idea of a lottery system to select young men for muster. Instead, those responsible are now waiting for new suggestions from the Ministry of Defense. Röwekamp expects that of the 240,000 to 260,000 young men drafted, around 30,000 to 40,000 will actually take up service. If the number of volunteers is not sufficient, a selection process would be unavoidable, which of course brings additional challenges.
The Union's plans and troop strength
A central concern of the Union is the establishment of binding figures for the active troops. The number of military service members should increase to 10,000 men and women annually in order to meet demand. Röwekamp emphasizes that the need for soldiers for the standing troops is crucial for the number of people doing military service. According to his plan, a third of those doing military service would have to agree to continue their enlistment.
Another controversial point concerns the classification of those doing military service. Röwekamp wonders whether everyone should be viewed equally as temporary soldiers and calls for an increase in pay and measures to make military service more attractive. Time is of the essence: a solution to all of these points is necessary in order to avoid an adjournment.
Legislation and expert consultation
The new law, which initially stipulates the voluntary nature of military service, was introduced into the Bundestag in mid-October 2025. At today's meeting of the Bundestag's Defense Committee there will be an expert hearing at which, among others, Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, and the head of the Bundeswehr Association, André Wüstner, will be heard. The meeting is public and will be livestreamed. According to [Tagesschau](https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/ defenses committee-wehrpflicht-100.html), the draft law envisages increasing troop strength from the current 182,000 to 260,000 active soldiers, including an additional 200,000 reserve forces.
However, the dispute over the number of people doing military service and the structure of the military service remains a hot topic. The Union is demanding clear target figures in order to increase the attractiveness of the Bundeswehr. Röwekamp is optimistic that an agreement can be reached in the coming days - a positive outlook that is also shared by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The military service law is due to come into force on January 1st, and the course for this will be set in the coming days.
The debate is exciting and shows how important it is to make the Bundeswehr attractive for new recruits. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen what concrete steps still need to be taken and how the strategy will ultimately be designed.