Germany restores conscription
Germany is discussing the prospect of reintroducing conscription. The Ministry of Defense presented three reform options to the head of the department, Boris Pistorius. This practice was abolished in the country 13 years ago - in 2011.
In one of the options, it was proposed to involve women in compulsory military service. This would require an amendment to the German Constitution, but the Ministry of Defense believes that this option is likely to be approved by the public.
Another version of the reform envisages the conscription of only men over the age of 18.
A third option involves "optimizing" the existing system by conducting recruitment campaigns.
Pistorius opposed the third option. During a trip to Washington this week, he insisted that "Germany needs some form of conscription."
Germany's defense minister, who is the country's most popular politician, previously called the decision to end military service a "mistake".
The reintroduction of conscription is linked to the aging of German society, which means that the number of retired soldiers outnumbers the number of recruits to replace them.
Berlin recently aimed to increase the size of its armed forces from the current 180,000 to 200,000.
