German Defense Minister Pistorius wants to increase size of armed forces

Germany wants to increase the size of its armed forces up to 230,000 from the current target of 203,000.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced the ambitious plan as he answered questions in the Bundestag on Wednesday.

By way of explanation, Pistorius referred to NATO requirements:

"There is the Two Plus Four Agreement. It stipulates how many standing forces and how many may be in reserve. Nobody is planning any increase beyond this limit, but it is simply a matter of setting up the armed forces in such a way that we fulfill the Two Plus Four Agreement", adding that in this way "we are legally compliant and follow the relevant international and national legislation".

Germany currently has 180,000 active personnel, approximately 20,000 short of its current target.

However, the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, have been struggling to recruit people for years.

The targets Pistorius wants to set will likely further complicate an already difficult objective.

NATO demanded of its members an increase of their defence capacities to boost the alliance’s strength following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.