Report says German military is ageing and shrinking as parties seek funding

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BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s military is ageing and shrinking, the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces warned on Tuesday, against the backdrop of a bid to overhaul borrowing rules to massively boost defence spending.

In an annual report released on Tuesday, Eva Hoegl said that despite a recruitment drive launched in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, personnel numbers in the armed forces had dipped to 181,200 in 2024 from 181,540 a year prior, while the average age had risen to 34 from 32.

That pushes the Bundeswehr’s goal of increasing the number of personnel to over 200,000, a target postponed from 2025 to 2031 two years ago, further out of reach.

Increased spending allowed Germany to reach the NATO defence spending target of 2% of gross domestic product for the first time in 2024, but around 82% of a 100-billion-euro special defence fund agreed in 2022 to overhaul the country’s creaky military has already been spent, according to the report.

Friedrich Merz’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) – in negotiations to form a coalition after a snap election last month – are seeking to overhaul borrowing rules in order to revamp the military and revive economic growth.

But they face resistance in parliament, where they require a two-thirds majority for the change to the Basic Law, or constitution.

According to the parliamentary commissioner, who acts as an advocate for service personnel and exercises parliamentary oversight, the Bundeswehr’s equipment, weapons and infrastructure also leave much to be desired.

“Some of the barracks and properties are still in a disastrous state,” the report says.

(Reporting by Markus Wacket, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Rachel More, Aidan Lewis)