(12 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Berlin, Germany – 12 June 2024
1. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius at news conference
2. Close of Pistorius
3. Wide of news conference
4. SOUNDBITE (German) Boris Pistorius, German Defence Minister:
"We have to realise that the threat situation is completely different than it was just a few years ago. Russia has now been waging a war against Ukraine for two-and-a–half years, in violation of international law. In doing so, it is not only calling the rules-based international order into question, it is destroying it. It is usurping the right to attack a sovereign state, to annex its territory and to deprive the people living there of their freedom. This is a new threat situation, especially as he leaves no doubt that it’s not just about Ukraine."
5. Wide of Pistorius speaking
6. SOUNDBITE (German) Boris Pistorius, German Defence Minister:
"We are talking about a cohort of 400,000 young men who turn 18 every year. We will write to them with a draft questionnaire, a draft questionnaire that will be sent out online. It will contain questions on qualifications, interests, inclinations, sport and, in particular, the question of who can imagine volunteering for service in the Bundeswehr."
7. Wide of news conference
8. Close of Pistorius speaking
9. SOUNDBITE (German) Boris Pistorius, German Defence Minister:
“We assume that around one quarter of these 400,000 men will tick that they are interested. And then we’ll be right at the point where the child gets its name: we then envisage a selective military service. Those who are the fittest, the most suitable and the most motivated will be selected for military service."
10. Wide of news conference
11. Journalists
12. Pistorius speaking
STORYLINE:
Germany’s defence minister announced Wednesday plans for new legislation that would help refill the depleted ranks of the armed forces to bolster the country’s defence capabilities.
Boris Pistorius said the proposed bill would allow the government to send letters to all young men who turn 18 — about 400,000 every year — asking about their willingness and ability to serve in the military.
Under the law, those who receive the letter would have to fill out the questions. The army would then invite those interested in serving for a medical checkup and choose the most qualified to serve in the military for a period of six-23 months.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Pistorius explained that threat levels had changed from what they were a few years ago.
“Russia has now been waging a war against Ukraine for two-and-a-half years — it is not only calling the rules-based international order into question, it is destroying it," he said. “This is a new threat situation.”
The campaign is part of efforts to boost active forces numbers to 203,000 from the current just under 181,000 figure. Germany had over 500,000 troops during the Cold War.
If the bill passes, the new military service would still be voluntary and a far cry from compulsory conscription for young men, which was suspended in Germany in 2011, after 55 years. Since then, there has been no mandatory military and civilian service in the country.
Germany’s conscription act still stipulates that compulsory military service for men can be revived if the parliament declares a state of emergency for defence.
Women who turn 18 would also receive the letters, Pistorius said, but would not be obliged to answer, since Germany’s constitution does not foresee mandatory service for them.
AP video shot by Pietro De Cristofaro
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