German business leaders issued a stark warning to Friedrich Merz that a return to compulsory conscription could cause untold damage to the economy. The German Chancellor is determined to beef up his country’s military in the wake of ever-increasing Russian aggression that threatens European security.
He vowed to do “whatever it takes” to keep Germany safe and is planning to invest hundreds of billions of euros into the defence sector. The government also plans to boost the number of soldiers serving in Germany’s once-revered Bundeswehr.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius plans to introduce voluntary conscription that would initially draft around 5,000 eighteen-year-olds into the army each year.
However, the Social Democrat has admitted the scheme is likely to fall well short of the numbers needed to bring the army up to full strength.
As a result, he has also suggested a return to compulsory conscription that was scrapped back in 2011.
Although he has failed to provide details on a specific model of conscription, the Defence Minister has been full of praise for the Swedish system.
Sweden calls up roughly 10% of young people for obligatory military service each year after a screening process.
While supporting the general idea of conscription, German business leaders have also expressed concerns that it could deprive companies of workers and damage the economy.
Several pointed out that a strong army requires a flourishing economy to fund it.
Steffen Kampeter – a director of Germany’s biggest employers’ group the BDA – told the Financial Times: “The security situation is dramatic. Yes, we need more active soldiers.
“Yes, we need to expand the system of reservists. But only a strong economy can make that possible.”
Germany’s military needs to recruit roughly another 80,000 people over the next decade to meet its current Nato commitments.
Senior army officers also say they need to increase the size of the army reserves to 200,000 in the near future.
An Ifo Institute study commissioned last year by Germany’s finance ministry found that compulsory conscription would carry high economic costs for the country.