The German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, need around 35,000 additional soldiers to meet NATO’s new defense requirements, according to the head of the parliamentary defense committee.
Marcus Faber, the chairman of the Bundestag’s defense committee, joined calls for a stronger army to deal with the growing threat from Russia and on Saturday backed plans to increase the number of German combat brigades in NATO from 82 to 131 from 2031.
Instead of three divisions with 65,000 soldiers, the German army would then need five divisions, which would correspond to a total of about 100,000 soldiers, Faber told German media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
“That would take about ten years,” said Faber, who called for an increase in annual German defense spending from 2% to 3% of GDP.
The Bundeswehr currently has a total of 180,000 soldiers.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has repeatedly called for a significant further increase in defense spending and has also made clear that more soldiers are needed for defense capabilities.
Pistorius’ ministry is currently working on the details of a new proposal for military conscription.
Against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, German NATO General Christian Badia also told media on Friday that the country’s defense spending should approach 3% of GDP, well above the NATO guideline of 2 %.
Badia, a German Air Force commander, is also responsible for the continued development and adaptation of NATO’s military alliance.
