Germany Plans Major Intelligence Overhaul to Counter Foreign Threats

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Germany’s government is set to unveil a sweeping overhaul of the country’s intelligence services on Wednesday, proposing broad new powers for agencies to conduct covert operations and counter threats from foreign states, terrorist groups and cybercriminals.

The reforms, which have been under discussion for several months, would significantly loosen restrictions that have traditionally limited Germany’s intelligence agencies largely to collecting information and providing assessments to policymakers.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government argues that stronger intelligence capabilities are necessary as Germany faces an increasingly complex security environment, particularly amid Russia’s war against Ukraine and growing concerns over espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation.

German officials have accused Moscow of conducting a “hybrid” campaign targeting Germany, one of Ukraine’s largest military supporters.

“We are in the thick of a hybrid conflict not only with Russia but also with other actors,” Marc Henrichmann, chairman of parliament’s intelligence oversight committee, told AFP.

He said Germany’s traditionally cautious approach to intelligence operations had left the country “behind the curve” and limited its ability to contribute fully to European security.

Henrichmann cited a series of recent incidents, including the discovery of an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig airport last week, as evidence of the threats facing Germany.

“We face adversaries who play without any rules at all,” he said, warning that hostile actors seek not only to pressure Germany and its European allies but potentially to undermine them.

Expanded cyber and surveillance powers

For decades, Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, and domestic intelligence service, the BfV, have operated under strict legal constraints shaped in part by the abuses of Nazi Germany and communist East Germany, as well as strong constitutional protections for privacy and civil liberties.

The proposed reforms would give the agencies greater authority to act on intelligence they collect rather than simply pass information to government authorities.

The legislation could allow German intelligence agencies to conduct cyberattacks against foreign IT systems being used by hostile actors, including disrupting digital infrastructure or blocking financial flows.

The BND and BfV would also receive expanded powers to collect and analyze data, including the use of artificial intelligence to examine large datasets and retain certain information for longer periods.

The legislative package, which reportedly runs to more than 700 pages, would establish rules governing controversial tools including online surveillance and digital tracking.

In exceptional circumstances, the BND could also be authorized to conduct sabotage operations abroad. However, assassinations and other lethal operations would remain prohibited under German law.

Peter Neumann, a professor of security studies at King’s College London, said Germany’s intelligence services had historically been focused primarily on information gathering.

“They have some powers to collect information and give policymakers a better picture, but they are very restricted in what they were allowed to do with that information,” Neumann told AFP.

Germany has significantly increased defense spending since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and supporters of the intelligence overhaul argue that strengthening the country’s spy agencies is a necessary complement to its military buildup.

Concerns over civil liberties

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the proposed changes as a fundamental transformation of Germany’s intelligence capabilities.

“We are turning our intelligence agencies into genuine secret services,” Dobrindt told the Bild daily.

He said the reforms would provide a stronger response to sabotage, espionage, cyberattacks and covert destabilization efforts by foreign powers, while bringing Germany closer to the capabilities of intelligence partners around the world.

Neumann said intelligence agencies in several European allies, including Britain, France and the Netherlands, already have significantly broader operational powers than their German counterparts.

Germany’s restrictions have at times complicated cooperation with allied intelligence services and limited opportunities for joint operations, he said.

“It is about time for German intelligence services to have similar powers to other European democracies,” Neumann told AFP.

However, the proposed reforms have drawn criticism from opposition lawmakers and civil liberties groups.

Green Party lawmaker Konstantin von Notz, deputy chairman of the intelligence oversight committee, said stronger intelligence powers were justified by the current security environment but warned that the draft legislation went too far by failing to sufficiently strengthen independent oversight.

He also raised concerns that some provisions could conflict with Germany’s constitutional prohibition against granting police powers to secret services.

The Society for Civil Rights has similarly warned that expanded digital surveillance powers could significantly infringe on fundamental rights.

Henrichmann defended the reforms, arguing that Germany’s extensive legal safeguards and parliamentary oversight would ensure that the expanded powers were subject to strict controls.

He said Germany had some of the most heavily scrutinized intelligence agencies in the world.

The government’s proposed overhaul is expected to fuel a wider debate over how Germany can strengthen its national security capabilities while preserving the constitutional protections that have shaped its intelligence system for decades.