BERLIN — Germany may return to conscription if too few people volunteer for the military, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned Wednesday.

Speaking in his first parliamentary address since the new government took office, Pistorius said a new voluntary military recruitment program will begin this year to rebuild Germany’s under-strength army.

“We have agreed that we will initially rely on voluntarism — a service that is initially voluntary and intended to encourage young people to serve their country,” Pistorius said. “And I say this quite deliberately and honestly: the emphasis is also on ‘initially,’ in case we cannot recruit enough volunteers.”

Germany suspended compulsory military service in 2011. Reinstating it would mark a major policy reversal, driven by the rising threat posed by Russia coupled with growing worry about the reliability of U.S. security guarantees under President Donald Trump.

Pistorius said the Bundeswehr has around 181,500 active-duty troops — well short of its 203,000 target by 2031. Recruitment rose 20 percent in early 2025, but “we still have too few people for what our armed forces must accomplish,” he warned.

The new coalition government backs the recruitment drive. Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged today to build “the strongest army in Europe” during his address to the Bundestag.

Pistorius stressed Germany would lead alongside France, the U.K., and Poland, adding: “Security in Europe is, first and foremost, the responsibility of Europeans themselves.”