Overview
- At the Chancellery, the inaugural closed-door session focused on an action plan against drones, cyberattacks and sabotage, threats often linked to Russia.
- Chaired by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the body includes nine federal ministers with Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil as deputy and can invite security chiefs, state officials and outside experts.
- Meetings are secret and resolutions remain classified unless the council opts to publish them, according to the government’s rules.
- The NSR serves as the central hub for integrated security policy, producing shared situation pictures, coordinating crisis responses and setting long-term strategies across domestic, foreign, economic and digital domains.
- A 13-person unit in the Chancellery supports the council, though some posts are reportedly unfilled, raising questions about resourcing and parliamentary oversight.