German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is planning to strengthen the foreign intelligence service, with an expanded mandate and new powers. New legislation could be in place as early as this fall, if the Bundestag approves the proposals.
Among other things, German intelligence officers could be allowed to carry out cyberattacks, conduct more offensive forms of espionage and, in some cases, even commit sabotage and other crimes abroad.
The Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence service, was founded in the 1950s, during the early years of the Federal Republic. With Hitler's reign of terror and the horrific crimes committed by the SS and Gestapo still fresh in mind, its operations were tightly regulated, although a significant portion of its personnel in the early years were former SS officers.
To ensure democratic control and transparency, the BND was subordinated to the Federal Chancellery and a special oversight committee in the Bundestag. Its mission was to collect and evaluate intelligence, but with little scope for more offensive operations.
Protect the country's existence
Even today, BND agents have very limited ability, for example, to fight back against cyberattacks, which the government now wants to change.
In the event of an attack on Germany, as I see it, it is not enough for us to just watch; we also need to be able to defend ourselves, says Merz's powerful chief of staff Thorsten Frei on NTV .
And if we can then save human lives, if in extreme cases we can also protect the continued existence of our country, then these are the measures we must take.
Frei compares the strengthening of the BND, which has also received substantial increases in this year's budget, with the "epochal shift" that Merz's predecessor, Olaf Scholz, announced after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and which led to the massive defense investments that, according to Merz, will give Germany Europe's largest conventional army.
The timing is no coincidence
That the reform is happening right now is hardly a coincidence. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, Germany, like other European NATO allies, has anxiously tried to navigate adventurous moves, recurring insults and threats of military force from the White House. When the US temporarily stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine in March last year in order to pressure the Zelenskyy government into a peace agreement with the invading power, Russia, alarm bells rang in Berlin, notes Politico .
Tony Ingesson, lecturer in intelligence analysis at Lund University, sees the German plans as part of a larger trend.
There is a lot going on regarding what is called European digital sovereignty. They want to reduce their dependence on American services and companies to make themselves less vulnerable to political developments in the United States, he says.
"Quite addictive"
However, the US's dominant role in Western intelligence cooperation cannot be replaced overnight, Ingesson points out.
Large parts of Europe have long been involved in extensive intelligence cooperation with the US. They have become quite dependent.
Jörgen Holmlund, intelligence expert at the Swedish National Defense University, points in particular to signals intelligence capabilities, where the US has unmatched resources that the Europeans would find it very difficult to manage without.
The United States operates a worldwide telephone network, including satellites and satellite surveillance. I don't think we can even imagine how big it is.
He sees it as difficult to replace the US's capabilities in that arena, but believes that Germany and European NATO allies should "take strong action" when it comes to threats against their own country.
We own that stadium, and we don't want any American or other interference there.
Want to work together
Christian Democrat Marc Henrichmann, who chairs the German Bundestag's oversight committee for intelligence services, tells Politico that Germany wants to continue working closely with the Americans.
But if a president, whoever it may be, in the future decides to go his own way, without the Europeans (...), then we must have the ability to stand on our own two feet.
Germany has three central intelligence services at the federal level, with different responsibilities and tasks.
The Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) is the German foreign intelligence service, which is primarily engaged in intelligence gathering abroad. The BND has around 6,500 employees, making it one of the largest intelligence services in the Western world.
The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BFV) is the German domestic security service, responsible for protecting the constitution through counterintelligence and monitoring political extremism and terrorist organizations that could threaten the democratic state.
The Militärischer Abschirmdienst (MAD) is an intelligence service under the Ministry of Defense that is responsible for the security protection of the German defense forces in Germany and abroad. MAD is also responsible for preventing extremism and combating espionage against the German military, the Bundeswehr.
