Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, has voted to introduce voluntary military service, in a move aimed at boosting national defenses after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It marks a significant shift in Germany's approach to its military and follows Chancellor Friedrich Merz's push to create Europe's strongest conventional army.
The change means that all 18-year-olds in Germany will be sent a questionnaire from January 2026 asking if they are interested and willing to join the armed forces. The form will be mandatory for men and voluntary for women.
Students at schools across Germany have said they will join strikes in as many as 90 cities on Friday to protest against the move.
Many young Germans either oppose the new law or are sceptical.
We don't want to spend half a year of our lives locked up in barracks, being trained in drill and obedience and learning to kill, the organisers of the protests wrote in a statement posted on social media.
In Hamburg alone, about 1,500 people were expected to join the protests, and school head teachers warned parents not to take their children out of school for the day.
German MPs voted by 323 votes to 272 to back the change, making their country the latest European nation to introduce some form of revised military service.
Last month, France announced it was introducing 10 months of voluntary military training for 18- and 19-year-olds.
The government says military service will be voluntary for as long as possible, but from July 2027, all 18-year-old men will have to take a medical exam to assess their fitness for possible military service.
The long-term aim is to raise the number of active soldiers to 260,000 by the early 2030s, supplemented by approximately 200,000 reservists, to meet new NATO force targets.
While the plan is for voluntary service, if security situations worsen, compulsory military service could again be considered.
The government is under pressure to avoid wasting time determining who is operationally capable in the event of a security crisis.
Since the end of compulsory service in 2011, Germany has seen a significant decrease in its military size. The new plan, spurred by geopolitical tensions and U.S. pressure, aims to restore and enhance Germany's military capabilities.
Comparatively, voluntary military service may come with incentives such as a salary of €2,600 a month, which stands in contrast to France's similar initiative.
