Germany postpones vote on military service law
6 October 05:03
The Bundestag’s first reading vote on German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’ law on new rules for conscription will not take place on October 9, as planned. This is reported by the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
according to it, the reason for the delay is the disagreement that arose in the parliamentary working group among representatives of the factions of the ruling parties: the conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Unions (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
At present, the Bundestag’s vote on the bill in the first reading may be postponed for a period of one to several weeks, the publication says. No specific new date has been named.
“In both factions of the ruling coalition parties, we have been working for weeks on the necessary improvements to the bill and possible compromises. According to the general assessment, there are still open questions,” the newspaper quoted Norbert Rettgen, deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag, as saying.
The main issue that causes disagreement is how the transition from voluntary military service to compulsory military service will take place. According to Pistorius’ draft law, this transition will be made if the number of people willing to do voluntary military service is insufficient or if the security situation in Germany deteriorates significantly.
However, the document does not contain any specific numbers or deadlines for such a transition. This is what the CDU/CSU bloc criticizes. “No one will benefit from an empty military duty,” said CSU chairman Markus Söder in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag (BamS) tabloid.
According to Söder, “there is no escape from the introduction of compulsory military service,” and voluntary military service can only be the first step on this path. “In times of serious threat, we need more than an army with questionnaires,” the politician emphasized. – “To ensure its own security, Germany needs to provide the Bundeswehr with a sufficient number of soldiers.
