German chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet agreed today to end the country's compulsory military service, government sources said, in what is the largest reform of the postwar army since its founding.
The plan envisages cutting the number of troops by 65,000 to 185,000, and from July of next year ending a draft that has conscripted generations of young men to the federal army formed after Germany's defeat in World War II.
It was unclear what effect the reforms would have on bases and weapons programmes, which will be decided upon next year, or how exactly the army would meet a savings goal of €8.4 billion set by finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.
Germany is the third-largest troop contributor to Nato operations in Afghanistan, with around 4,600 forces based in the north, which has seen a spike in violence over the past year.
It aims to start withdrawing troops from the country at the end of 2011, a decade after the start of what has become a deeply unpopular conflict in Germany.
Reuters