Germany is preparing for the most significant reform of its foreign intelligence service since the end of World War II. The cabinet of Chancellor Friedrich Merz intends to significantly expand the powers of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and reduce Berlin's dependence on sharing information from the United States. The impetus for this is growing concern that Washington may restrict cooperation in the field of intelligence in the future.

According to information from German media and international agencies, the BND is now expected to gain the ability to actively intervene against threats, rather than simply collecting and analyzing information. The reform package includes provisions that would allow the service to carry out sabotage operations, offensive cyberattacks, or targeted disruption of the infrastructure of hostile actors in extraordinary security situations. However, such actions would be subject to strict approval by the parliamentary oversight committee.

The current legal framework for the BND stems from post-war efforts to prevent the abuse of power by intelligence agencies, an experience Germany had during the Nazi era and later with the East German Stasi. Therefore, intelligence officers have long lacked the authority to directly intervene against identified threats. For example, if they uncovered a planned cyberattack, they could pass the information on to other agencies, but they themselves could not take countermeasures.

Security officials now argue that such restrictions are unsustainable in the era of hybrid threats and state-sponsored cyber operations. The head of the BND, Martin Jaeger, has repeatedly warned of the increasing number of acts of sabotage, disinformation campaigns, and attempts to destabilize European countries. In Germany alone, authorities have recorded hundreds of suspicious incidents linked to Russian structures.

The geopolitical developments in the United States are also playing a crucial role in the debate. German politicians openly acknowledge that any restrictions on the sharing of intelligence information by the administration of Donald Trump would have a significant impact on Europe. The temporary suspension of US support for Ukraine in the past, according to Berlin, demonstrated how much leverage Washington holds in the field of intelligence.

Therefore, the government of Friedrich Merz increased the BND's budget by approximately 26 percent to 1.51 billion euros this year. The reform is also expected to include a partial relaxation of strict data protection rules, so that the service can more effectively utilize artificial intelligence, big data analysis, and facial recognition technology.

Critics warn of a weakening of civil liberties and point to Germany's historical experience with secret police. However, coalition politicians argue that without modernizing intelligence powers, the country will remain vulnerable in a "game without rules."

gnews.cz - GH