German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced an increase in the number of applicants to join the German army this year.

The minister stated in comments to the German newspapers "Rheinische Post" and "General-Anzeiger": "There is an increase in the number of people volunteering because they want to serve their country... Compared to the previous year, the number of people who applied for military service has increased by 15% as of July 8."

Pistorius is betting on a new model of military service to attract more individuals to the ranks of the army. The model includes a mandatory basic military service of 6 months with an optional additional voluntary military service of up to 17 additional months. For this purpose, mandatory registration will be implemented, in which young people will be required to provide information about their readiness and ability to perform military service – and young women may do so voluntarily. Starting in 2025, an initial recruitment of 5,000 additional mandatory recruits will be conducted from among 400,000 candidates from the annual application batch, with plans to increase the number later.

The minister intends to implement his plans at this time without amending the constitution, which would be necessary for the application of a general mandatory military service. Pistorius said: "I do not see that we will be able to change the constitution in this legislative period, even if the Christian coalition agrees to the plans... But I need a quick start in implementing military registration because we are threatened. Therefore, we are paving the way as quickly as possible with men now, and then women will be included."

The bill is expected to be ready by the fall. The minister expects the law to come into effect before the summer vacation of 2025, "and possibly even in the first quarter of the year."