The German Bundestag has denied security clearances and access authorizations to IT systems for several employees of parliamentarians. This decision, announced by the Bundestag administration on Wednesday, stems from “security-relevant findings” uncovered during necessary reliability checks.
The administration’s assessment indicated a potential risk that access granted through house passes could be misused for “anti-constitutional purposes”. Issuing such credentials would, according to the assessment, pose a threat to the functioning, operational capacity, security, integrity, or trustworthiness of the Bundestag. Concrete and specific indications suggested that such pursuits could impact the Bundestag’s operations and the safety of parliamentarians and others present.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) emphasized the importance of maintaining the Bundestag’s security. “The German Bundestag is an open parliament-simultaneously, it is the space of our democracy, which we must particularly protect” she stated. Klöckner stressed that no compromises could be made regarding the Bundestag’s internal and external security. Individuals granted independent access to the Bundestag’s buildings and IT systems must be considered unquestionably reliable. “The volume and seriousness of the security-relevant findings concerning the employees in question made the rejection of their applications absolutely necessary” she added.