The idea of allowing foreigners to serve in the German army is being considered in Berlin. If approved, it would allow the Bundeswehr to strengthen its strength, with recent announcements that conscription could be reinstated as a large-scale “European Army” looms on the horizon. .
Deutsche Welle (DW) report German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius had initially floated the idea of welcoming non-Germans into the military to ease a severe manpower shortage.
In addition to the Social Democratic Party's Pistorius, the report details that the initiative has received support from MPs from one of the two coalition partners, the FDP, and the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU). states.
This was revealed in an interview by Free Democratic Party (FDP) member Marie-Agnès Struck-Zimmermann, who chairs the German parliament's defense committee. DW's Nina Haase envisions opening up the German military to candidates from across the continent and abroad, reflecting the changes Germany's ethnic composition is currently undergoing.
More than one in four people in Germany have an “immigration background”https://t.co/vGX6i7vor5
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 14, 2022
He said candidates could initially come from the EU, as well as from Britain and neutral Switzerland. However, there is scope beyond these countries as well.
Strzok-Zimmermann called on MPs to “think a little bolder, bigger and more European.”
“We are already working towards the goal of having a long-term European force,” she said.
The lawmaker noted that the German military is working closely with the French and Dutch militaries.
“That is why in the long run, if we think in a European way, it no longer matters what nationality a soldier has within this European framework,” Strzok-Zimmermann told DW. Ta.
High-profile recruits stand during the swearing-in ceremony for Bundeswehr soldiers at the German Ministry of Defense in Berlin, July 20, 2019. (John McDougall/AFP/Getty)
As reported by Breitbart News, the German government has set a goal for the Bundeswehr to be combat-ready within eight years, and recently considered reintroducing conscription to help achieve that goal. announced.
Germany abolished compulsory military service in 2011, but is now being forced to reconsider as calls for rearmament grow across Europe.
Shortly before Christmas, Pistorius suggested that Germany's conscription system could be based on the “Swedish model”.
Germany is buying 100,000 grenades, 22 million rounds of ammunition and 28,000 combat helmets, as well as new fighter jets, air defense systems, armored vehicles, rocket launchers and anti-aircraft missiles. Deep strength.
