Germany's parliament on Friday (December 5) approved a controversial military service law aimed at expanding the German Army and meeting NATO targets, as heightened tensions with Russia drive European nations to bolster defence capabilities.

The legislation, passed after months of debate, introduces a dual-track system combining enhanced voluntary service with the option to activate needs-based conscription if recruitment falls short. The latter would require a separate Bundestag vote and could involve random selection for enlistees if eligible numbers exceed requirements, lawmakers said.

The move sparked protests outside the parliament in Berlin, with demonstrators denouncing what they described as the gradual reintroduction of conscription. Carrying banners reading "No to Conscription," activists argued that the legislation would erode individual freedoms.

The defence ministry will report biannual recruitment updates to parliament, as the law sets ambitious German Army expansion targets: increasing active-duty forces to 260,000 from the current 183,000 and boosting reservists to at least 200,000 by 2035.

For the first time since conscription was suspended in 2011, all men born after Jan. 1, 2008, will undergo phased medical examinations based on capacity. Both men and women aged 18 will be asked to declare willingness to serve, though only men must respond.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF UMBRELLA WITH STATEMENTS AGAINST CONSCRIPTION AND ARMAMENT IN FRONT OF GERMAN PARLIAMENT

2. VARIOUS OF STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF PEACE GROUPS HOLDING BANNER WITH SLOGAN (German): 'NO TO CONSCRIPTION!'

3. (SOUNDBITE) (German) “NO TO CONSCRIPTION ALLIANCE” MEMBER, JANNIS ALTHOFF, SAYING:

"The medical examination is only the first step toward conscription. The examination is just a model so that conscription can be introduced slowly, bit by bit. We see that there is a conflict over how quickly conscription can be introduced, because you can see that resistance is stirring."

4. WRITING ON THE ENTRANCE TO GERMAN PARLIAMENT READING (German): 'TO THE GERMAN PEOPLE'

5. (SOUNDBITE) (German) STUDENT, MAX ANDRE, SAYING:

“Well, that's a pretty drastic step. I don't think it's surprising, I'd say. I mean, it was kind of foreseeable. But now that it's actually happening, it feels kind of weird somehow.”

6. NOTE IN HELMET WITH INSCRIPTION (German) 'COMMITMENT TO MILITARY SERVICE'

7. PERSON WEARING PAPER MASK OF GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER, BORIS PISTORIUS, (SPD), HOLDING MILITARY HELMET

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. PLENARY HALL

9. PISTORIUS LISTENING TO DEBATE

10. GERMAN CHANCELLOR, FRIEDRICH MERZ, LISTENING

11. CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARLIAMENTARIAN, NORBERT ROETTGEN, WALKING UP TO LECTERN

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (DEUTSCHER BUNDESTAG - Access all)

12. (SOUNDBITE) (German) CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARLIAMENTARIAN, NORBERT ROETTGEN, SAYING:

"But unlike the AfD, we have no doubt that this war threatens freedom and peace throughout Europe, ladies and gentlemen. It is the tradition of the Bundeswehr, and not the gibberish we have just heard, to stand up for freedom, democracy, justice, and peace."

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

13. ROETTGEN SPEAKING

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (DEUTSCHER BUNDESTAG - Access all)

14. MERZ LISTENING

15. (SOUNDBITE) (German) CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARLIAMENTARIAN, NORBERT ROETTGEN, SAYING: "Because all the armament, all the equipment - if we don't have people, especially young people, who know the value of freedom and peace and justice – then it's all for nothing. And that is what we are promoting with this law, that we have resilience throughout society and a commitment to peace and freedom, ladies and gentlemen."

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

16. MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT LISTENING

17. PARLIAMENTARIAN, SARA NANNI, OF THE GREENS SPEAKING

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (DEUTSCHER BUNDESTAG - Access all)

18. (SOUNDBITE) (German) PARLIAMENTARIAN SARA NANNI OF THE GREENS, SAYING:

“We Greens will not be voting in favour of this bill today. I'm already waiting for the doom and gloom from the Union: the Greens may not have understood the turning point after all. Let me tell you something: we Greens played a key role in shaping this turning point, and today we are also the largest parliamentary group in parliament.”

19. GREENS PARLIAMENTARY GROUP APPLAUDING

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

20. VARIOUS OF PARLIAMENT VISITORS LISTENING

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (DEUTSCHER BUNDESTAG - Access all)

21. (SOUNDBITE) (GERMAN) PARLIAMENTARIAN DESIREE BECKER OF THE LEFT PARTY, SAYING:

“We reject compulsory military service. We reject compulsory military service based on need. We also reject the preparation of all this, today's Military Service Modernization Act. As all surveys show, young people have other plans than to risk their lives in ‘Merz's regiment’ for the capital of the rich.”

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

22. BECKER SPEAKING

23. LEFT PARTY FRACTION LEADER HEIDI REICHINNEK APPLAUDING

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (DEUTSCHER BUNDESTAG - Access all)

24. PISTORIUS WALKING TO LECTERN

25. (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER, BORIS PISTORIUS, SAYING:

"But yes, to be honest, and that's what I'm here for this morning, it's important to say: If that is not enough, if the threat situation continues to develop in the same way or worsens, we will have no choice but to introduce compulsory partial military service in order to protect this country. Incidentally, that includes you too, ladies and gentlemen." (POINTING TO THE LEFT PARTY)

BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

26. PISTORIUS SPEAKING

MUENSTER, GERMANY (FILE - NOVEMBER 10, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

27. YOUNG GERMAN SOLDIERS STANDING IN ROOM AND LISTENING TO PRESENTATION BY GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER, BORIS PISTORIUS

28. GERMAN FLAG ON UNIFORM

29. ROW OF SOLDIERS HOLDING RIFLES AND AIMING

30. SOLDIERS’ LEGS / SOLDIERS LYING ON GROUND ROLLING OVER

31. ROWS OF SOLDIERS

32. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS AIMING RIFLES IN WOODS

33. SOLDIER RUNNING

34. PISTORIUS OBSERVING EXERCISE

35. SOLDIERS RUNNING