Germany has disclosed a proposal to allow foreign citizens outside the European Union (EU) to join the military known as Bundeswehr.
The proposal was revealed by the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, stressing the importance of trying to enlist an additional 20,000 troops in the face of threats from Russia.
Under German law, only citizens can serve in the Bundeswehr in principle, though foreigners can be allowed to join in certain special cases.
However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Bundeswehr has increased its recruitment efforts to meet the new target of 20,000 extra troops.
According to The Telegraph, speaking on the possibility of the scheme, Pistorius said, “We would not be the first armed forces in Europe to do that.”
If Germany succeeds with this, it will join Denmark, Spain, and Slovakia which also allow foreigners into the army after meeting certain conditions.
However, only UK and Commonwealth citizens are allowed to serve in Britain’s Armed Forces.
Pistorius has already warned that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin may decide to attack a NATO country within the next five to eight years, thus, making preparations against it.
“We have to take into account that Vladimir Putin will one day even attack a Nato country,” he said. “Our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible … at the moment I don’t think a Russian attack is likely.”
