By Issy Ronald, Stephanie Halasz and Sophie Tanno, CNN
Hundreds of students protesting voluntary conscription in Cologne, Germany, on Friday, as part of a nationwide student strike. Photo: AFP/ Ying Tang
Germany's Bundestag has voted for a bill that allows the country to move towards conscription, as tensions with Russia spur calls for Europe to gain more independence from the US security umbrella.
The controversial bill passed with a relatively solid majority in the end, with 323 lawmakers voting yes, 272 voting no and one abstaining.
Expanding military service like this prompted youth protests across more than 80 German cities, including Berlin, Cologne and Kassel.
The move seeks to boost the numbers in Germany's armed forces to approximately 260,000 soldiers, up from the current 180,000, in addition to an extra 200,000 reservists, by 2035.
The bill does not provide for mandatory conscription, but incentivises voluntary enlistment through measures like a monthly starting salary of €2,600 (NZ$5200) - an increase of €450 (NZ$900) from the current level.
However, if the new quotas still aren't reached, the government retains the option of 'Bedarfswehrpflicht' - what Germans call needs-based conscription - following another vote for an extra law in parliament.
Under the new system, all 18-year-olds will receive a questionnaire from next year, asking about their interest in serving in the military, although it is only compulsory for men to answer it.
From July 2027, men will also have to undergo mandatory military examinations once they turn 18.
At protests in Kassel and Berlin, some people held handmade posters with slogans against the bill, while others led chants through megaphones, as they marched through the city centre.
"I think it's very important that everyone can choose their own future," one protester told CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Berlin.
"If they don't want to spend it on war, I think it's their right to say that they don't want to go into the military, they don't want to prepare for war, because preparing for war brings us closer to it."
With these reforms, Germany joins several other European countries that have either reintroduced or expanded their military service, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Denmark expanded its military service to include women in July, Latvia re-introduced compulsory military service for men in January 2024 and France announced the creation of a new voluntary youth military service last month.
Germany has not had mandatory military service since 2011, when it was suspended, making service entirely voluntary.
The country's armed forces have been underfunded since the Cold War - falling below two percent of its GDP - as European security seemed unthreatened and a taboo surrounding the military lingered, following the Nazi era.
- CNN