Video: German conscription returns as NATO praises new military draft plan

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has welcomed the German government’s decision to ‘reform’ its conscription of military-age men to increase the size of its armed forces. Compulsory military service was paused – put into ‘abeyance’ by Germany in 2011 – but the ‘Bundeswehr’ will now be authorised to compel all men aged 18 to complete a ‘medico-military commission’ and to draft those it deems necessary if not enough volunteer to complete the thousands a year increase it is targeting. A quiet return of German conscription in all but name.

Rutte, a war spending enthusiast who boasted of the Russian casualties Ukraine inflicted and whose Dutch government authorised Ukraine to use aircraft from the Netherlands to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, said he was ‘very glad’ of the new rules:

Each country decides for itself how to approach the issue of attracting a sufficient number of men and women to the armed forces. But I am very glad to hear that the coalition here in Germany, as I understand, has now agreed on a way forward. As NATO Secretary General, I am always glad when decisions are made aimed at involving more people in our armed forces.