Marcus Faber Photo : Marcus Faber’s press office
The German army needs an additional 35,000 troops to meet NATO requirements. This assessment was made on Saturday by Markus Faber, chairman of the defence committee of the Bundestag (lower house of the German parliament), DPA reports.
The German army needs an additional 35,000 troops to meet NATO requirements. This assessment was made on Saturday by Markus Faber, chairman of the defence committee of the Bundestag (lower house of the German parliament), DPA reports.
In an interview with the media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), Faber expressed support for the plan to increase the number of German combat brigades within NATO from 82 to 131 by 2031. According to the German parliamentarian, instead of three divisions with 65,000 soldiers, the Bundeswehr will need five divisions, which is equivalent to about 100,000 soldiers.
“This task could take almost 10 years,” added Markus Faber, calling for an increase in Germany’s defence budget from 2% to 3% of gross domestic product.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has also repeatedly stressed the need to significantly increase the country’s military spending, noting the lack of personnel to strengthen defence capabilities. At the same time, the German Ministry of Defence is developing new proposals to reintroduce compulsory military service.
