Soldiers without a German passport
Union and FDP open to Pistorius idea
January 22, 2024, 4:03 a.m
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Not all of the questions have been clarified for them yet, but in principle representatives of the Union and FDP can benefit from the idea of recruiting people without a German passport to join the Bundeswehr. Defense Minister Pistorius had previously made the idea public.
FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann has shown herself open to accepting soldiers without a German passport into the force. “Fundamentally, we have to think in a much more European way when looking for suitable young people who are willing to serve in the Bundeswehr,” she told the “Rheinische Post”. This also includes the consideration “that soldiers without a German passport can get one more quickly through successful service in the Bundeswehr,” said the chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag.
The CDU defense politician Johann Wadephul also told the newspaper that the idea was fundamentally correct, but the design was central. “Does this option only apply to citizens of EU or NATO countries or even beyond? Is complete knowledge of the German language necessary?” Many questions that need to be clarified. “Minister Pistorius himself has stated that the Bundeswehr must be ready for war in five to eight years. That is an awfully short period of time when it comes to personnel strategy. So he should act as quickly as possible.”
Pistorius recently brought into play a modified compulsory military service and also opening up the troops to soldiers without a German passport. “We would not be the first armed forces in Europe to do that,” Pistorius told the “Tagesspiegel”. There are people in the country who live in Germany in the second or third generation but do not yet have German citizenship.
“Every time it was just a crisp interview”
Union faction deputy Wadephul recently gave Pistorius a negative report card for his first year in office. “Pistorius has failed so far in his initiatives and ideas,” Wadephul told the Germany editorial network on Friday. This applies to Pistorius’ demand for a higher defense budget and the “repeated flirtation with a reintroduction of compulsory military service,” said the CDU politician. “Every time it was a matter of crisply presented interviews – which were then rather brusquely cleared away by the Chancellor, the SPD party or parliamentary group leaders.”
In Wadephul’s opinion, too little happened in Pistorius’ term as defense minister in terms of procurement and changing structures in the Bundeswehr. Wadephul admitted that the minister had arrived in office “very quickly”. “Right from the start, he struck the right tone with the soldiers, which is very, very good for the troops. And he told the public with welcome clarity what the security policy situation is, what that means for the Bundeswehr and that ours “The whole country has to face defense issues,” said the CDU politician.