German Intelligence Agencies Need Reform, Says Green Party Politician
Konstantin von Notz, a German Green Party politician, is calling on the government to reform the country’s intelligence agencies. A previous reform effort, which was stalled by the Free Democratic Party and ultimately vetoed by the CDU/CSU, is a prime example of the need for change, he claims.
“It’s not going to get past the black-red coalition” said von Notz, the outgoing chairman of the Parliamentary Control Committee, in an interview with the Stern magazine. “We need to have robust, capable intelligence agencies that meet all the constitutional requirements.”
According to von Notz, this requires clear areas of responsibility, good personnel, up-to-date technology and a unified definition of what constitutes a threat or a terrorist. Additionally, Germany needs to adopt a fundamentally different approach to the realm of espionage and counter-espionage.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in espionage, sabotage and covert influence operations from Russia and other authoritarian regimes. “Germany needs to be much better prepared to counter this, or we might as well pack up” said von Notz.
It is also necessary, he believes, for the Chancellery to clearly outline Russia’s “aggressive agenda” including the density of sabotage and espionage actions, as well as the support of problematic political movements in Germany.
Previous chancellors, von Notz claims, have been hesitant to clearly address the problems. “Friedrich Merz did so during the election campaign, but now seems much more reticent.” As long as a clear language is lacking, it is difficult to bring about change in this area. “We need a turning point not only in defense, but finally also in domestic policy.