Germany to Re-Activate Military Draft by 2026

A bill to be put forward by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius would allow the Cabinet, with parliamentary agreement, to call up conscripts if a situation arises that requires a rapid boost to the country's armed forces, media have reported.   

The bill is being seen as a compromise between some conservatives' calls for the return of compulsory military service, which was suspended in Germany in 2011, and the opposition of many leftist lawmakers to such a move.

The German government is planning to have a new military service scheme in place by 2026 in response to the changed security situation in Europe largely due to Russia's territorial aggression.

Meanwhile, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is in Latvia for talks focusing on the security situation in the Baltic region, which would seem particularly under threat from Moscow's "imperialist" ambitions, he says.