Army: German army plans to recruit Europeans

The German army intends to open its ranks to nationals of several European countries.

The Bundeswehr is facing a lack of recruits, and now plans to integrate Polish, Romanian and Italian citizens, according to the weekly der Spiegel, which relies on a document from the Ministry of Defense.

The state plans to strengthen its troops, since the annexation of Crimea by Russia four years ago. The pressure has also increased since Washington threatened to withdraw from NATO if European countries did not deploy more military means.

Berlin has announced that its forced army should increase from 179,000 to 198,000 soldiers by 2024.