Sicherheit: Bundestag beschließt Geheimdienstreform

The German Bundestag has decided on a far-reaching reform of the country's intelligence agencies in response to the threat posed by Russia. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) are now allowed to actively and covertly counter attackers in special cases, rather than merely collecting information as they have done previously.

The BfB's mandate can also be restricted in cooperation with individual state agencies following the AfD's electoral victory in Saxony-Anhalt. The German Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, called the law a "century-long reform," stating that it marks the beginning of a new era for the agencies. According to Dobrindt, "news services are becoming genuine intelligence services," emphasizing the need for these measures against external and internal threats to democracy.

The SPD's deputy fraction leader, Sonja Eichwede, stated that the step strengthens "the resilience of democracy." Both domestic and foreign intelligence services in Germany had significantly fewer rights compared to those of other European countries. The rule of law was intended to be safeguarded against the experience of the Nazi regime.

The agencies are now allowed to disrupt the infrastructure of attackers, reroute data traffic, delete stored information for attacks, or deliberately spread misinformation. However, such attacks can only be authorized by the BfB when no other gaps in protection can be closed, such as when information from foreign partner agencies cannot be passed on to the police.

The Green party criticizes the excessive powers granted to the BfB. Green deputy fraction leader Konstantin von Notz supported the reform for the foreign intelligence service but rejected the law in its current form for the BfB. He said that "this draft gives all, especially the BND, the means to become action-oriented and act on an equal footing with our partner agencies."

However, von Notz expressed concerns about the BfB having more power in several areas. The AfD and the Left criticized the expansion of powers as excessive and warned of a secret service that could threaten the state from within.