Germany works to clarify new rules on fighting-age men leaving country

FRANKFURT: Germany’s armed ‌forces are working on clarifying a provision in a recently updated military service law that requires fighting-age men to gain permission to leave the country for more than three ​months, the defence ministry said.

The law went into effect in January, ​but the requirement – which theoretically affects millions of men between ⁠the ages of 17 and 45 in the European Union’s most populous ​country – had gone mostly unnoticed until a local newspaper report highlighted it on ​Friday.

A defence ministry spokesperson stressed that military service in Germany is voluntary, adding that the ministry was “currently drafting specific regulations for granting exemptions from the requirement for approval, also ​to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy”.

The controversial new military service law was passed last year ​to boost Bundeswehr numbers and meet NATO targets amid the growing view within Germany that ‌it ⁠has relied too long on the United States and as tensions with Russia spur calls for stronger defence capabilities across Europe.

The legislation seeks to ensure a robust and reliable military registration system, the defence ministry spokesperson said ​in an emailed response.

“In ​the case of ⁠an emergency, we must know who may be residing abroad for an extended period,” he said.

He declined to ​comment further on how the process may eventually look.

Germany wants ​to increase ⁠the ranks of active soldiers to 260,000 by 2035 from 183,000 at the end of last year, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz telling military leaders last ⁠year that ​the country needed to become capable of ​defending itself as quickly as possible and needed soldiers.

Opposition politicians over the weekend criticised the government ​for creating confusion with the law.