After the federal chancellery announced plans for a comprehensive overhaul of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), SPD member of parliament Ralf Stegner urged that the changes be measured and balanced. “No blank check should be issued, and powers should not be over‑extended” he told the “taz”.
Chancellor’s Office chief Thorsten Frei (CDU) had previously unveiled new authorities for the BND, which would, for the first time, allow the service to carry out operational activities abroad. He cited examples such as jamming radio traffic for drone defense and disabling cryptocurrency wallets belonging to hostile agents who transfer money digitally. This would be a first for the BND: so far the agency may only collect and analyse information.
Control of the BND is also slated to be re‑structured. The agency would be placed under an Independent Oversight Council. BND head Martin Jäger, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, insisted that his service needed to become more operational, saying the opposition must “feel the pain” as well.
Stegner, who has spent several years on the Parliamentary Control Committee for intelligence services, said he generally supports the idea of giving the BND appropriate tools for the current threat environment. However, he cautioned that “the BND need not become the CIA, and a democratic intelligence service should not operate with the same means used by a dictatorship”.
Bundesdatenschutzbeauftragte (federal data‑protection commissioner) Louisa Specht‑Riemenschneider has opposed the removal of her control rights over the BND. In an interview with the “taz”, her spokesperson described the proposal as “unproductive”. Specht‑Riemenschneider argues that people affected by BND actions already have limited legal remedies, and that her office enjoys a “high level of awareness, reputation, and trust” giving it a unique overview of data‑protection violations across all security agencies. Consequently, the commissioner believes that, rather than stripping control, the BND’s oversight should instead facilitate a streamlined cooperation between her office and the Oversight Council. A withdrawal of that control would, in her view, constitute a “weakening of fundamental rights protection”.
Similarly, the G10 Commission in the Bundestag-charged with parliamentary oversight of security services-will lose scrutiny over the BND. Michael Grosse‑Brömer, a CDU member heading the commission, told the “taz” that while his commission sees the need to strengthen Germany’s security architecture, he urges that the longstanding parliamentary and oversight experience of G10 members and, in particular, the expertise of their staff in the Bundestag administration not be entirely dismissed.
