Intelligence surveillance: Planned super-agency fuels espionage fears
The federal government wants to centralize control of BND and BfV. Critics warn of a risky data pool for enemy services.
The German intelligence agencies do not like to reveal their hand.
(Image: Achim Wagner / Shutterstock.com)
Intelligence agencies prefer to work in secret. In Germany, the practical limits of their powers are decided by a committee that itself is hardly in the public eye: The G10 Commission meets once a month in a soundproof room in the Bundestag. Its five members decide on the most sensitive intrusions into privacy. They approve whether the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, BfV), the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst, BND), or the Military Counterintelligence Service (Militärischer Abschirmdienst, MAD) are allowed to tap phones, read emails, or open letters. In doing so, they override the postal and telecommunications secrecy protected by the Basic Law.
Fundamental Change to Intelligence Oversight
According to research by WDR and NDR, this traditional oversight model is on the verge of being abolished. The federal government plans as part of a comprehensive reorganisation of the agents' powers to fundamentally revise the existing structure of intelligence oversight.
At the heart of the reform project, according to the report, is the transfer of tasks to the Independent Control Council (UKRat). This federal authority only began its work in early 2022 and consists of former judges who have so far primarily dedicated themselves to "strategic" foreign intelligence. They apparently do not proceed strictly so far.
The Chancellery is now pushing for an expansion of its powers. From 2027, the Council should also be responsible for the individual monitoring of targets at home and abroad, according to its wishes. The government is thus responding to directives from the Federal Constitutional Court. In 2024, Karlsruhe had called for a professionalization of prior control to meet the increasingly complex technical surveillance possibilities.
Professionalization vs. Political Appointments
Proponents expect the concentration at the UKRat to provide a better overview of the agencies' activities. The G10 Commission is currently composed of honorary members. The Control Council, on the other hand, operates as a full-time authority. A stronger role, for it is also intended to improve the international cooperation capabilities of the German intelligence services.
Previously, the G10 Commission, often composed of former politicians, was frequently accused of lacking distance from the executive. Observers spoke of a committee that simply rubber-stamped applications. The appointment practice, which favored lawyers from party circles, also repeatedly came under criticism.
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Opponents Mobilize
However, the planned reform is also attracting skeptics who warn against centralization. If in the future not only technical surveillance but also the use of informants is pre-emptively controlled by a single authority, new risks will arise. In security circles, there is growing concern that the UKRat will become a knowledge pool about the country's most sensitive operations, which could represent an attractive target for enemy intelligence services.
There is also disagreement within politics. A closer connection to the Council's technical expertise is generally considered consensual. However, voices from the opposition, such as Green Party parliamentary group deputy Konstantin von Notz, warn that the link to the members of parliament must not be lost. While the oversight must be broadened in terms of expertise, it must not neglect direct exchange with the Parliamentary Control Panel (PKGr).
(akn)
