During his first term, President Donald Trump urged Europe, particularly Germany, to allocate more of their budgets to defense. This pressure appears to be yielding results in Germany, often regarded as Europe’s economic powerhouse.
In a significant development, Germany’s coalition government, comprising the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union and the Social Democrats, has reached a consensus on introducing new incentives for voluntary military service. This decision follows a spirited debate last week, driven by concerns over the mounting threat posed by Russia to Europe.
The proposed incentives aim to bolster recruitment by offering free driving licenses, which typically cost several thousand dollars in Germany. Additionally, the government plans to raise the starting pre-tax salary for recruits to approximately $3,000 per month.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, Ahlen, recruits participated in combat training during a media day at the Bundeswehr’s Reconnaissance Battalion 7. Politicians from the CDU/CSU and SPD have agreed on a nationwide initiative to support the new military service draft. (Federico Gambarini/picture alliance via Getty Images)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a conservative leader, has pledged to transform Germany’s armed forces into “Europe’s strongest conventional army.” Jens Spahn, the parliamentary leader of the CDU, emphasized this ambition to reporters on Thursday, stating, “We want to attract as many young people as possible to serve their country.”
Spahn further noted that if the voluntary model fails to attract sufficient military personnel, compulsory service may become necessary. However, he acknowledged that implementing mandatory conscription would require new legislation.
David Wurmser, who worked for the U.S. Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer, as a lieutenant commander and was a former senior advisor for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for Vice President Dick Cheney, told Fox News Digital that “Europe is finally beginning to contemplate defense and a more serious way.”
“While it has never been its official policy, over the last few decades, Europeans took for granted the American umbrella and the inconceivability of war to both largely minimize any defense burden they share, as well as placed themselves as some sort of moral conscience lording over the world that ranged into pacifism and impossible moral perfection. It is a good thing that they are now forced to start soberly thinking about their defense and what that might entail.”
President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025. ( Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
He added that “it is important that we in the United States begin to understand that the center of gravity of European civilization is shifting eastward. The fact that Germany, before Britain and France, seemed to appreciate the threat that it faces and the resulting need to stand up a more robust defense, is symbolic of that shift eastward.”
According to Wurmser, “Symbolically, Germany’s actions represent a realization that is long overdue, but is not yet universally understood. That what happened in February 2022, as well as what is happening in the Middle East against Israel, are only localized versions of a much larger, dangerous, and potentially deadly global competition that is led by several nations in opposition to western civilization.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, watches the Victory Day military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in Moscow. (Sergei Guneyev/Host Photo Agency via AP, File)
He said, “That axis represents the fusion of communist, Islamist, and fascist thought. That unholy alliance, which is an unlikely alliance, is anchored first and foremost to the loathing of Western civilization. The West will not survive unless it realizes that, and what Germany is doing is to some extent a first small step in that direction.”
Trump urged Germany to pay the U.S. more for its military defense of Germany during his first term.
