Ministry anchors foreign travel regulation in law following expert opinion criticism

The Defence Ministry is responding to legal concerns about its military service regulations: The exemption regulation requiring approval for foreign travel is to be anchored in the planned reserve forces law as quickly as possible, the ministry announced. With this, Pistorius aims to place the regulation on a secure legal foundation.

The background is an expert opinion that classifies the suspension of the deregistration requirement for military-capable men as unlawful. The minister had suspended the regulation in April by general administrative order – apparently without the necessary statutory authority. The ARD capital studio reports that Pistorius was not authorised to make this decision alone.

Left faction examines legal action against ordinance

The political consequences are significant: The Left faction is already examining legal action against the military service ordinance, according to the Tagesspiegel. MP Röwekamp also criticises the approach and warns that the confusion is deterring young people from military service.

Parallel to the legal problems, resistance to other aspects of the military service reform is growing: Employers are massively rejecting the planned obligation to report for military exercises. Pistorius had hoped to strengthen the Bundeswehr with a reserve forces obligation – but is encountering broad opposition.

The government is now attempting to address the problems through rapid legislative changes. However, the accumulation of legal questions and political resistance suggests that the military service reform will be significantly more difficult than originally planned.