When the chancellor’s office revealed its plans for a sweeping overhaul of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), SPD member of parliament Ralf Stegner urged a measured approach. “No blanket check should be given, and the powers should not be over‑extended” he told the “taz”.
Kanzleramtschef Thorsten Frei (CDU) recently announced that the BND would in addition to information gathering and analysis be granted the authority to carry out operative actions abroad. Examples he cited were jamming radio traffic for drone defense and shutting down cryptocurrency wallets used by hostile agents to transfer money digitally. This would represent a first for the BND, which traditionally had no operational remit.
Control of the BND is also set to be restructured and consolidated under an Independent Control Council. BND chief Martin Jäger, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, said the service must become more operational and that the opposition “must feel the pain” just as much. Stegner, who has served several years on the parliamentary committee that oversees the intelligence services, said he largely supports equipping the BND with appropriate tools for today’s threat environment. He cautioned, however, that the BND should not become the CIA and that a democratic service must not operate with the same means as one in a dictatorship.
Freely, the Federal Data Protection Commissioner Louisa Specht‑Riemenschneider, argued against stripping her agency of its control rights over the BND. She described the plan as “unproductive” and noted that people affected by BND measures have limited legal recourse. Her office enjoys “a high level of visibility, reputation, and trust” and uniquely monitors data‑protection breaches across all security agencies. Therefore, she urged a streamlined cooperation between her office and the Control Council rather than a loss of oversight, arguing that such a move would weaken the protection of fundamental rights.
Finally, the G10 commission, which also scrutinises the BND, is slated to be removed from the oversight of the service. Chair Michael Grosse‑Brömer (CDU) said the commission sees the need to strengthen Germany’s security architecture but cautioned against entirely discarding the long‑standing parliamentary and oversight experience of G10 members and the expertise of their staff within the Bundestag administration.