Union and SPD members reached an agreement in the Coalition Committee late on Wednesday evening. They agreed to ease strict transparency requirements and launch an “Agenda for Resilience and Greater Sovereignty”.
In the joint statement, the federal and state governments will review publicly available geodata on critical infrastructure and other security‑related information, and, where it makes sense and is necessary for public safety, limit that data. The Coalition stresses that protecting critical infrastructure should always trump blanket transparency of sensitive information.
The federal government also intends to push for a corresponding change in publication obligations at the European level. It calls for concrete measures that raise protection standards, speed up repairs, and ensure emergency supply, while the economy – in particular the power grid – must become more resilient.
“We need to move away from excessive transparency and towards resilience” said Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). “The safety of critical infrastructure comes before the desire for transparency, in our view”.
Regarding the “Agenda for Resilience and Greater Sovereignty” the coalition noted that only a few major powers currently compete for influence, resources, and technological leadership. Germany and Europe must strengthen themselves. “Any form of strength – be it military or technological – ultimately depends on economic performance, the productivity of workers and employers” the coalition added. “Sovereignty is gained by avoiding unilateral dependencies”.
“If we do not strengthen our sovereignty, we become vulnerable and will lose our competitiveness” Merz warned. SPD leader and Vice‑Chancellor Las Klingbeil added that Europe must become so strong that it does not have to downplay itself before any other country.
Bärbel Bas, SPD leader and Minister of Labour, called for stronger protection against deepfakes ahead of the state elections. She said, “We already see cyber‑attacks and manipulation. We will therefore discuss this matter intensively in the next Coalition Committee meeting, because it is essential to further strengthen our democracy”.
CSU leader Markus Söder praised Merz’s approach to the United States at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He said the “mix of clarity and prudence” helped Germany there, preventing a trade war. Söder urged realism in dealings with the US, noting dependencies in defence, technology and intelligence. “We need the United States” he said. “Therefore it is important that no trade dispute, especially one initiated by us, emerges, no calls for boycotts or the like. We rely on free trade and rules”.