00:00The war in Ukraine has created a new sense of threat among the general public in Europe.
00:04According to polls, a majority in many member states therefore supports increased defense
00:09spending. But not everyone is willing to make a personal contribution as well. In Germany,
00:14the number of applications for conscientious objection has continued to rise sharply and
00:20has already surpassed the previous year's figure in the first half of 2026. How to explain this
00:27trend? To find some answers, I'm now joined by Niklas Hepst. He's a member of the European
00:31Parliament from the European People's Party from Germany. Good morning and thanks for coming on.
00:37Good morning. Thanks for having me.
00:38So last year, there were fewer than 4,000 applications in Germany for conscientious objection.
00:45In the first half of this year alone, there have already been more than 5,000. Is fear of war
00:53driving this increase? Basically, of course, people are in fear. But we have a new military
00:59service law that started on the 1st of January this year. So I think for many people so far,
01:06you know, thinking about war was we have soldiers doing that for me in case if needed. But now I
01:12think this law also forces people to think about their own contribution.
01:18And I mean, has the German government unintentionally frightened young people by constantly talking
01:24about the possibility of war?
01:26I wouldn't say that. And of course, you have to put the numbers into perspective. We're talking
01:29about 5,000 people. It's not only young people, it's even, you know, some reservists, some, you know,
01:35former soldiers, people who are not even affected by the law. So it's not a, you know, very high number.
01:425,000 in a country of 85 million. Exactly. But the increase is at least surprising.
01:49It is. But on the other hand, you have a different number as well. The number of people
01:55who are revoking, who are withdrawing their objection is also rising. So you have, you know,
02:00pacifists, for example, who now change their mind and say we would be willing to serve in the army
02:06in case if needed. So it's an interesting situation. And in the end, we need a discussion
02:11about resilience in society. That's the ultimate goal that we should have. We need to talk about
02:16our own resilience. There are many ways to serve your country and your fellow human beings. Also
02:21in terms of collective defense, you don't have to take a weapon into your hand. There are other
02:25ways as well. So this is a broader discussion. And I wouldn't say that the government has,
02:30you know, you know, supported fear of war. But you have to be honest with people as well. And
02:35of course, people are watching the news and they know what's going on.
02:38All right, Niklas Herbst, MEP from Germany, from the Christian Democrats. Thank you so
02:43much for sharing your thoughts with us.
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