Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht speaks at the Bundeswehr Conference 2022 in Berlin.
Image: dpa
A debate about conscription “is of little help to us in the current situation,” said Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht. At the same time, the number of applicants for the Bundeswehr is reportedly declining.
BDefense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) rejects the reintroduction of conscription despite the changed threat situation caused by the Ukraine war. “A conscription debate is of little use to us in the current situation,” Lambrecht told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “It takes time to train soldiers – less than a year makes little sense.” In addition, there are not enough barracks, trainers or the equipment for tens of thousands of conscripts.
The question of military justice called for by the Federal Constitutional Court “cannot be answered so easily,” she added. Conscription should also include women and “should not only affect one in four in a year”.
Number of conscientious objectors increases
According to a report by the editorial network Germany (RND), the number of applicants for the armed forces is decreasing. The number of applicants for military service in the Bundeswehr has been declining since the beginning of 2022, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Office for Bundeswehr Personnel Management in Cologne.
At the same time, according to the RND report, the number of conscientious objectors within the Bundeswehr is increasing significantly. According to a spokesman for the Federal Office for Family and Civil Society Tasks, 657 applications for conscientious objection have been received so far this year. In the whole of last year, there were only 209. Many applicants justify their refusal, according to the information, with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
