In service for six months

The German government has reduced service life

The German federal government has ended months of debate over the prospects for military conscription. The Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Free Democrats participating in the ruling coalition agreed to reduce the terms of both military service and alternative civilian service. In both cases, the duration of these periods will be six months, including any legal vacation days that accrue during this time. Thus, after the relevant legal acts come into force, the terms of service will be reduced by three months, because today young Germans serve for nine months.

The idea of ​​reducing the duration of military service in the Bundeswehr to a minimum belongs to the Free Democrats. With this demand, their party, the FDP, came to negotiations with the CDU/CSU in October 2009 on the formation of a coalition government. The current decision was a compromise - during last year's election campaign to the Bundestag, the Free Democrats demanded the complete abolition of conscription and alternative civil service, while the Christian Democrats insisted on maintaining the current nine-month term.

But the main point of contention was the alternative service. This right is enjoyed in Germany by those young men of military age who, for reasons of conscience, refuse to serve in arms. They work in the social sphere: hospitals, orphanages and nursing homes, in the rescue service and on hospital transport. For a long time in Germany, the terms of alternative service were significantly longer than military service - it lasted 20 months. However, since 2004 this distinction has been eliminated.

Experts warn of a coming shortage of alternative workers. In 1999, 120,000 conscripts were sent to the civil service, but now their number has dropped to 80,000. By mid-June, the government will develop a concept for a more attractive voluntary public service. Otherwise, there will be a significant shortage of staff in hospitals, social and charitable institutions. The new concept provides for the possibility of voluntary extension of civil service for three to six months. However, the conscript will be able to do this no earlier than two months after its start. Thus, the authors of the new concept are trying to prevent the possibility of offering alternative workers 12-month rates for service at once.

The new draft rules will come into force this summer. However, the majority of social and charitable unions in Germany, where young men perform alternative service, have already come out categorically against the government's innovations. They emphasize that it takes a couple of months just to train staff. And there is a vacation - and soon it’s time for the young man to get ready to go home.

Yuri Shpakov, Berlin