Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt championed the legislation to shield the nation from severe hybrid threats, foreign sabotage, and extremist networks. Under the new legal framework, the foreign intelligence agency will carry out targeted disruptions against overseas cyber infrastructure and weapons supply chains. Meanwhile, domestic intelligence officers are now permitted to covertly enter homes with prior authorization to preemptively dismantle security threats. Opponents like Left Party spokeswoman Clara Bünger argue these sweeping provisions dangerously blur the lines of executive police power.
Key points
The legislative overhaul transforms German intelligence by shifting agency mandates from…: The legislative overhaul transforms German intelligence by shifting agency mandates from passive surveillance to direct operational intervention.
Proponents argue the expanded powers are essential to protect critical national infrastru…: Proponents argue the expanded powers are essential to protect critical national infrastructure against hostile campaigns from Russia, China, and Iran.
Critics strongly object to the law because it undermines the historic division establishe…: Critics strongly object to the law because it undermines the historic division established after the Nazi era between intelligence agencies and policing.
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Germany's foreign and domestic intelligence services are to be given greater powers to combat espionage, terrorism and sabotage after the country's parliament, the Bundestag, approved a major overhaul of its legislation.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who championed the bill, has called it a "reform of the century", necessary because of the increasing threats from foreign powers.
But the Left Party's security spokeswoman, Clara Bünger, said Dobrindt was creating a new German secret police.
The legislation gives numerous new powers to Germany's BND federal intelligence service, and its BfV domestic service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
In the Bundestag, 309 MPs voted in favour of the new law on intelligence services, while 190 voted against and 71 abstained.
For historical reasons, German intelligence has mainly focused on gathering information rather than acting on it.
In future, German spies working for the BND, which is responsible for foreign intelligence, will be able to conduct covert operations abroad, including sabotage.
This could include paralysing the servers of state-sponsored hacker groups, disrupting disinformation networks, or even disrupting supply…
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