Franziska Meinicke (C) from Magdeburg and Peggy Hoffmann from Tuchheim (R) hand over documents to a soldier after arriving at the barracks of heavy engineer battalion 803rd in Havelberg, about 150 north-west of Berlin January 2, 2001. Effective January 1, 2001, women will be allowed to carry arms in the German military forces according to a decision of the European Court in Luxembourg earlier in 2000. [The court upheld a complaint from a German woman, Tanja Kreil, whose efforts to join the German Bundeswehr army had been rejected by the Defence Ministry. ]