The new Defense Policy Guidelines (“Verteidigungspolitische Richtlinien”) identify the shortage of personnel in the armed forces as "one of the central challenges facing the Bundeswehr". The intended refocusing on the military scenario of national and alliance defense requires a significantly larger body of personnel, yet the chronic shortage of applicants is a particular problem for the Bundeswehr.
Within the traditional target group of military recruitment – German citizens aged 18-25 – established recruitment measures are reaching their demographic and macroeconomic limits. The admission of foreign nationals to the military careers of the Bundeswehr and the associated expansion of the potential personnel pool represents a possible answer to the personnel shortage of the armed forces. Even if the pool were restricted to EU citizens, there would still remain a considerable 463,000 young adults available for recruitment (as of 2022).
However, a reform of the Law on the Status of Soldiers (“ Soldatengesetz”) needs to be carefully considered. A clear objective defining the intended military added value of an opening is only the first necessary step in the debate. Manpower, expertise, international integration – the possible motives for admitting foreigners into one's own national armed forces are manifold.
The necessary legal framework, conceivable selection criteria and suitable incentive structures must be considered for planning implementation. Above all, the question of whether service in the Bundeswehr should go hand in hand with the acquisition of German citizenship is crucial for further action.
Finally, the legal, political and social implications need to be weighed up. There is no doubt that opening up the Bundeswehr to foreigners would have considerable consequences for the concept of the "citizen in uniform", the “Staatsbürger in Uniform”. The overall consideration should therefore be determined by the question of the extent to which such a measure strengthens Germany's defense capability or not.
