During the opening of the new Drone Safety Technology Center in Cochstedt, the Green Party demanded clearer responsibilities and greater centralization in Germany’s drone defense strategy. Konstantin von Notz, a Green party expert in internal affairs speaking to the “Rheinische Post”, stressed the urgent need for robust legal frameworks and clear jurisdictional definitions, especially concerning drone defense.
Von Notz heavily criticized the responsible Interior Minister, arguing that instead of taking ownership and addressing the existing confusion of competencies, the minister focused on pointing fingers. The deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Control Committee criticized the media fanfare surrounding the opening of the drone center, suggesting that its actual operational capacity and usefulness still needed to be proven. While he acknowledged that the new research center could contribute meaningfully, he asserted that this was not the main area requiring immediate attention. According to Notz, the Federal Interior Minister must finally grant the Federal Police overall command of air safety operations. He concluded that the system desperately requires “extreme bundling and centralization of competencies.”
Von Notz further noted that Germany, as a democracy in Europe and a key supporter of Ukraine, is “in the full spotlight from Russia.” He argued that the officials in the federal government reacted inadequately to the severely heightened threat levels. Recent weeks have demonstrated the critical necessity of increasing national readiness. Specifically, Notz highlighted incidents in Leipzig, which “stripped bare massive security gaps” as authorities narrowly avoided a disaster. He asserted that the “lack of language and concept” displayed by the Interior Minister and the Federal Chancellor is striking and contradicts their public image as internally hardline figures, an image the public takes seriously following virtually every domestic political event.
