Germany aims to build Europe’s strongest military – FT
Photo: Germany wants to create the strongest army in Europe (Getty Images)
Germany plans to create the strongest army in Europe by attracting volunteers, increasing the number of trained reservists every year, Financial Times reports.
According to the agency's sources, the German government's plans involve recruiting up to 40,000 new reservists each year by 2031.
According to the FT, the German government will be presented with a corresponding bill at the end of August. It provides for a payment of 2,000 euros for voluntary military training, after which a person is automatically included in the list of reservists.
Future reservists will also be able to take language courses and obtain a driver's license during their training. The initial term of the program is six months, but it can be extended if desired.
At the same time, they want to recruit about 15,000 reservists by 2025. The Bundeswehr expects to increase the volume of such recruitment by 3-5,000 people each year.
German officials, according to the FT, hope that a significant number of young people will express a desire to become professional military personnel after completing training. There are about 182,000 of them in Germany today, and in the future, Berlin expects to increase their number to 260,000 people.
According to the Financial Times, for comparison, France plans to increase the number of reservists from 40,000 to 100,000 people soon.
Germany prepares for war threat
Previously, the inspector general of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, emphasized that Germany should increase the number of soldiers to 460,000. This includes both reservists and active military personnel.
According to him, such many soldiers can be provided either through voluntary or compulsory military service.
Germany may restore compulsory military service against the backdrop of the threat from Russia, but for now, the draft will be voluntary.
