Thorsten Frei, the Federal Chancellery minister, plans to widen the authority of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, through a new law. The proposal has drawn a mixed reaction from the opposition.
Konstantin von Notz of the Greens pointed out that there is no draft law on either the BND reform or on the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. “Every ministry is cooking its own soup” he told the “Tagesspiegel” on Wednesday. While he broadly praised the idea of restructuring the intelligence services, he argued that the government is moving too slowly and transparently. “There was no autumn of reform for the intelligence laws; instead, we’re stuck in a legislative dead‑end this winter” he said.
Clara Bünger, the deputy parliamentary group leader of the Left, opposed the plan entirely. “Those who want to extend retention periods while simultaneously cutting back oversight bodies act recklessly and blind to democracy” she warned. She cautioned against rushing the BND reform that Frei intends to finalize this year, noting that “a law that empowers the agency and weakens supervision ultimately brings less security and more erosion of democracy”.
Former Bundestag vice‑president Wolfgang Kubicki of the FDP labelled the proposals unconstitutional. “Questioning the separation between police and intelligence services and granting the BND additional domestic powers would be a grave political taboo and, in my view, outright unconstitutional” he said. “From a practical standpoint, Frei’s notion of giving the BND military or police powers would chaoticise, rather than organise, Germany’s security architecture”.