New law on military service in Germany
Germany has passed a new law on military service aimed at bring in tens of thousands of new recruits every year. The draft bill initially foresees voluntary service. A questionnaire will be sent out to all men and women 18 and over to ask about their interest in signing up. Commentators in Europe applaud the initiative.
Paradigm shift in Berlin
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is overturning another decision by his long-serving predecessor Angela Merkel, Český rozhlas observes:
“In Merkel's era military service was temporarily suspended. The main argument for this back then was that a 100 percent professional army was more suited to the times and conscription was an excessive infringement on personal rights. In a way, it was an expression of an entitlement mentality that placed rights above duties. The sense that force was necessary for defending freedoms quickly began to disappear. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed this. Perhaps too late, but better now than never. ”
Our nice life needs protection
Spain should take a leaf out of Germany's book, ABC urges:
“Germany has confronted Europe with its most irrefutable reality: Russia poses a constant threat. ... We Europeans have become accustomed to believing that peace and social welfare go hand-in-hand with democracy, and that state paternalism will protect our nice, quiet lives from every danger. Russia has brutally shaken us out of this self-satisfied stupor, and forced us to confront a vital truth: freedom must be defended. The mood in Europe clearly shows that we must build up military capacity if we are going to stop Putin from further aggression. In this new era, Spain must step up and take responsibility.”
The country is not prepared to do more
Service should remain voluntary, argues the Frankfurter Rundschau:
“Voluntary military service is a compromise that is viable, but it does not fulfil all wishes - i.e. those of the Bundeswehr. However our country is either unable or unwilling to do more than this. Let's remember that the point here is not to become fit for war. Even when we still had conscription, unified Germany was armed to defend itself and the majority of the population was not prepared to do more, as demonstrated by the high numbers of conscientious objectors. This has not changed over the decades. And neither military service nor conscription will do anything to change that.”