The head of Germany’s military union has warned that Germany will need 260 000 active-duty troops to meet NATO’s growing defence needs, significantly more than the government’s official target of 203 000 first set in 2016, long before Russia invaded Ukraine and before NATO began to focus more on defence, on Friday, the 30th of May, reports Politico.
But the Bundeswehr is still struggling with the expansion and currently has about 181 500 troops.
“The figure of 203 000 is outdated and no longer corresponds to reality,” said André Wüstner, chairman of the Bundeswehr Association.
“I assume that, depending on what is decided at the NATO summit, we will need an additional 40 000 to 60 000 soldiers,” Wüstner said in an interview with German media group RND published on Friday. “This means that the active force should gradually increase to 260 000 troops.”
NATO leaders will meet at a summit in The Hague on the 24th and 25th of June, where they will discuss the alliance’s defence spending target increase.
Wistner’s warning comes just as the German government is planning a new voluntary military service programme as part of its efforts to address chronic personnel shortages in the Bundeswehr.
Under the programme, all 18-year-old men will be asked to fill in a questionnaire to assess their willingness and suitability for service. Women can participate in the programme on a voluntary basis. The aim is to recruit around 5 000 volunteers each year.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stressed that the programme is “voluntary at the outset”, but left open the possibility of more radical steps.
“I say this quite consciously and honestly: the emphasis is also on ‘initially’ if we are not able to recruit enough volunteers,” he told lawmakers in the Bundestag earlier this month. “We still have too few people for what our armed forces have to accomplish.”
Germany abolished compulsory service in 2011. Its reinstatement would mark a major political shift.