Latest news with #NadjaWohlleben
The Star
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Germany plans six-month voluntary military service, sources say
FILE PHOTO: German reservist Hannes stands for a portrait after completing shooting training at barracks in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, March 6, 2025 REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany plans to introduce a voluntary six-month military service scheme, sources familiar with the plan said on Friday, as Berlin tries to train more reservists and bolster national defences over security concerns about Russia. Volunteers would be sought for training in simple tasks such as guard duties under the scheme, but a military draft to recruit more people could be considered if uptake were deemed too low, the sources said. With European states that are in NATO also under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to invest more in their own security since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to increase the number of soldiers in service from 180,000 to 260,000. Germany hopes the voluntary six-month scheme would help double the number of trained reservists from the current level of around 100,000 and that some of the volunteers would go on to have a career in active service, the sources said. The defence ministry said preparations for the new military service scheme were in full swing. "The aim remains for the law on the new military service to come into force in January. Our actions are focused on this," a spokesperson for the ministry said, adding that details would be revealed once the legislation reaches parliament. Participants in Germany's planned scheme will have the opportunity to extend their homeland security training to obtain a truck driver's licence or train as a tank driver, the sources said. New improvised barracks are also planned so that recruits can train closer to home, they added. The sources said Pistorius wants to have the legislation passed by the end of next month, with the first recruits to start training from May 2026. Questions remain about the plan, including who would be drafted for compulsory service if the government did not meet its recruitment targets. This element of the plan is also controversial within the minister's own Social Democratic Party. Germany ended its previous compulsory military service programme in 2011. Efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine have faltered, with Trump reporting no progress in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Russian officials have accused Western leaders of invoking a "fabricated 'Russian threat'" to justify increased defence spending. (Reporting by Rachel More and Markus Wacket, Editing by Miranda Murray, Timothy Heritage and Andrew Heavens)
Straits Times
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
German lower house backs plan to halt refugee family reunification
People attend a protest against a bill suspending family reunification for refugees with subsidiary protection status in front of the Reichstag building, in Berlin, Germany, June 26, 2025. Banner reads \"Family life for all! Family reunification now\". REUTERS/Riham Alkousaa People attend a protest against a bill suspending family reunification for refugees with subsidiary protection status in front of the Reichstag building, in Berlin, Germany, June 26, 2025. Banner reads \"Families belong together\". REUTERS/Riham Alkousaa Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is applauded after addresseing the parliament on the day Germany's lower house, the Bundestag, votes on a draft bill to suspend family reunification for two years for people granted subsidiary protection status to relieve pressure on Germany's reception and integration systems, in Berlin, Germany, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks with Julia Klockner, President of the German Bundestag, before Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, votes on a draft bill to suspend family reunification for two years for people granted subsidiary protection status to relieve pressure on Germany's reception and integration systems, in Berlin, Germany, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben Members of the Bundestag vote during Germany's lower house session in Berlin, Germany, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben BERLIN - Germany's Bundestag lower house passed a bill on Friday to suspend family reunification for migrants who do not qualify for full refugee status, fulfilling a conservative election pledge to curb migration and ease pressure on integration systems. Migration was a pivotal issue in February's federal election, where the far-right nativist Alternative for Germany secured a historic second place with its anti-migration platform. Germany currently hosts about 388,000 refugees with "subsidiary protection status", a form of international protection granted to people who do not qualify as refugees but who still face a real risk of serious harm if returned to their home country. The majority of those holding this status are Syrians. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the new bill was necessary because Germany's integration capacity, especially in education, childcare and housing, had reached its limit. "Immigration must have limits, and we are reflecting that politically," he told the Bundestag during a heated debate ahead of Friday's vote. Some 444 lawmakers supporting the bill, while 135 voted against it. The upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, which represents Germany's federal states, is expected to approve the bill in July, paving the way for it to become law. Dobrindt said suspending family reunification would help deter illegal migration by disrupting smuggling networks, which often rely on sending one family member ahead to later bring others. Berlin initially suspended family reunification for this group in 2016, amid a surge of over 1 million arrivals when then-Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the border for those fleeing war and prosecution in the Middle East and beyond. It was partially reinstated in 2018, capped at 1,000 visas per month. 'I CAN'T SLEEP' Tareq Alaows, refugee policy spokesperson for the pro-immigration advocacy group Pro Asyl, said the group was reviewing the bill's constitutionality and will support legal action for affected individuals if rights violations are found. Ahmad Shikh Ali fled to Germany from Aleppo two-and-a-half years ago, and his family, still stuck in Turkey, had only two cases ahead of them in the reunification queue to be processed and granted a visa to Germany before this law was introduced. "Since I learned of this decision, I can't sleep, I can't get on with my life," Shikh Ali said, breaking into tears in front of the German parliament on Thursday where he gathered with dozens of other refugees protesting the law. "My son was crawling when I left him, he is walking now," he said, holding a blurry photo of his 3-year-old son. He said returning to Syria - where an Islamist government has taken power following the fall of veteran leader Bashar al-Assad last December - was not an option as the security situation remained unstable. At the migration office in the city of Hanover where Shikh Ali lives, he was told that changing his status after finding full-time employment was not possible. "I can't go back to Syria, I can't go back to Turkey, I don't have any options, this is what suffocates me," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
NATO to ask Berlin for seven more brigades under new targets, sources say
G36 rifles are lined up on military premises where German reservists undergo shooting training, in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, March 6, 2025, as NATO looks to boost its strength after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/ File Photo NATO to ask Berlin for seven more brigades under new targets, sources say BERLIN - NATO will ask Germany to provide seven more brigades, or some 40,000 troops, for the alliance's defence, three sources told Reuters, under new targets for weapons and troop numbers that its members' defence ministers are set to agree on next week. The alliance is dramatically increasing its military capability targets as it views Russia as a much greater threat since its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Exact figures for NATO's targets - either overall or country by country - are hard to verify as the information is highly classified. One senior military official who, like the other sources spoke on condition of anonymity, said the target for the total number of brigades that NATO allies would have to provide in future will be raised to between 120 and 130. This would mean a hike of some 50% from the current target of around 80 brigades, the source said. A government source put the target at 130 brigades for all of NATO. Neither the German defence ministry nor NATO responded immediately to requests for comment. In 2021, Germany agreed to provide 10 brigades - units usually comprising around 5,000 troops - for NATO by 2030. It currently has eight brigades and is building up a ninth in Lithuania to be ready from 2027. Providing a further 40,000 active troops will be a big challenge for Berlin, however. The Bundeswehr has not yet met a target of 203,000 troops set in 2018, and is currently short-staffed by some 20,000 regular troops, according to defence ministry data. Last year, Reuters reported that NATO would need 35 to 50 extra brigades to fully realise its new plans to defend against an attack from Russia and that Germany alone would have to quadruple its air defence capabilities. Furthermore, the new NATO targets do not yet reflect any provisions for a drawdown of U.S. troops in Europe, sources said, the prospect of which has rattled Europeans due to NATO's defence plans that rely heavily on U.S. assets. Washington has said it will start discussing its reduction plans with allies later this year. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has told Europeans that the United States can no longer be primarily focused on European security. During the Cold War, Germany maintained 500,000 troops and 800,000 reserve forces. Today, alongside Poland, it is tasked by NATO with providing the bulk of ground forces that would be first responders to any Russian attack on the alliance's eastern flank. SPENDING INCREASE NATO members have massively increased defence spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and have been urged to go further by Trump, who has threatened not to defend countries lagging behind on defence spending. At a summit in The Hague next month, the alliance's head Mark Rutte will seek an agreement from national leaders to more than double their current spending target from 2% of GDP to 5% - with 3.5% for defence and 1.5% for more broadly defined security-related spending. In a historic shift, Germany recently loosened its constitutional debt brake so that it can raise defence spending, and it has backed Rutte's 5% target. German Chief of Defence Carsten Breuer has ordered his country's forces to be fully equipped by 2029, by which time the alliance expects Moscow to have reconstituted its military forces sufficiently to attack NATO territory. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Exclusive-NATO to ask Berlin for seven more brigades under new targets, sources say
G36 rifles are lined up on military premises where German reservists undergo shooting training, in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, March 6, 2025, as NATO looks to boost its strength after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/ File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO will ask Germany to provide seven more brigades, or some 40,000 troops, for the alliance's defence, three sources told Reuters, under new targets for weapons and troop numbers that its members' defence ministers are set to agree on next week. The alliance is dramatically increasing its military capability targets as it views Russia as a much greater threat since its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Exact figures for NATO's targets - either overall or country by country - are hard to verify as the information is highly classified. One senior military official who, like the other sources spoke on condition of anonymity, said the target for the total number of brigades that NATO allies would have to provide in future will be raised to between 120 and 130. This would mean a hike of some 50% from the current target of around 80 brigades, the source said. A government source put the target at 130 brigades for all of NATO. Neither the German defence ministry nor NATO responded immediately to requests for comment. In 2021, Germany agreed to provide 10 brigades - units usually comprising around 5,000 troops - for NATO by 2030. It currently has eight brigades and is building up a ninth in Lithuania to be ready from 2027. Providing a further 40,000 active troops will be a big challenge for Berlin, however. The Bundeswehr has not yet met a target of 203,000 troops set in 2018, and is currently short-staffed by some 20,000 regular troops, according to defence ministry data. Last year, Reuters reported that NATO would need 35 to 50 extra brigades to fully realise its new plans to defend against an attack from Russia and that Germany alone would have to quadruple its air defence capabilities. Furthermore, the new NATO targets do not yet reflect any provisions for a drawdown of U.S. troops in Europe, sources said, the prospect of which has rattled Europeans due to NATO's defence plans that rely heavily on U.S. assets. Washington has said it will start discussing its reduction plans with allies later this year. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has told Europeans that the United States can no longer be primarily focused on European security. During the Cold War, Germany maintained 500,000 troops and 800,000 reserve forces. Today, alongside Poland, it is tasked by NATO with providing the bulk of ground forces that would be first responders to any Russian attack on the alliance's eastern flank. SPENDING INCREASE NATO members have massively increased defence spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and have been urged to go further by Trump, who has threatened not to defend countries lagging behind on defence spending. At a summit in The Hague next month, the alliance's head Mark Rutte will seek an agreement from national leaders to more than double their current spending target from 2% of GDP to 5% - with 3.5% for defence and 1.5% for more broadly defined security-related spending. In a historic shift, Germany recently loosened its constitutional debt brake so that it can raise defence spending, and it has backed Rutte's 5% target. German Chief of Defence Carsten Breuer has ordered his country's forces to be fully equipped by 2029, by which time the alliance expects Moscow to have reconstituted its military forces sufficiently to attack NATO territory. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold, editing by Andrew Gray and Hugh Lawson)
