Anyway, here's that translation of Germany opening up a possibility for an EU Army:
archive.is/RCWGw
Government wants to open up the Bundeswehr to foreigners
Citizens from other EU states will be allowed to serve in the Bundeswehr in the future. The government's plan has been met with skepticism from the Bundeswehr Association, which has said German citizenship must remain "fundamental".
Caption: Bundeswehr soldiers in an operation. They could soon welcome colleagues from other EU member states.
The Federal Government plans to recruit foreigners from the EU for the German Armed Forces. This comes from the new White Paper regarding the security policies and the future of the Bundeswehr, reports the "Welt am Sonntag".
"If nothing else, the opening up of the Bundeswehr to male and female citizens of the EU will not only offer a wide-reaching potential for integration and regenerating the robustness of the personnel of the Bundeswehr, but will also be a strong signal for a European perspective," as is written in a chapter regarding a future personnel strategy in the Armed Forces.
It goes further, saying that this strategy must orient itself "at an early stage towards new and suitable target groups." According to the Legal Status of Military Personnel Act (Soldatengesetz), German citizenship is currently a prerequisite for recruitment as a career or volunteer soldier. The law only permits exceptions in substantiated one-off cases.
No job like any other
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces of the German Bundestag, Hans-Peter Bartels (Social Democratic Party), welcomed the motion by the government. "I consider it a good signal," Bartels told the "Welt am Sonntag". Although one should not expect too much of the idea, he said that "it was certainly conceivable that for some young Europeans, the Bundeswehr was an attractive perspective." Nevertheless, command of the German language had always been a prerequisite.
The German Bundeswehr Association has appeared more skeptical. Although its Chairman André Wüstner spoke of a "daring and interesting premium, the lieutenant colonel pointed out at the same time that "for reasons of legal rooting and as a foundation for the mutual relationship of loyalty between state and soldier, German nationality for the soldier is and must remain fundamental."
The job of a soldier is like no other, which is why "the juridicial and value-oriented frames of our leadership philosophy may never be diluted, in spite of all openness to new concepts," said Wüstner. The soldiering identity has an enormous national impact and includes "the readiness to die for that which lies in the head and the heart." This must always be made apparent to the politicians.
Bundeswehr has staffing concerns
The background of this motion is the staffing need of the Bundeswehr. With currently 166,818 career and volunteer soldiers (as of 31st May), the Armed Forces are clearly under their targeted strength of 170,000. 7,000 soldier positions will be created from 2017 onwards.
The White Paper is a "Guideline for the Security Policy Decisions and Acts of our Country" under the overall leadership of the Ministry of Defence and voted upon internally by the Federal Government. It was apparently pass in the beginning of July by the Cabinet.
—
Looks like the opening stages for an EU Army.
