Overview
- A roughly 691–700 page government draft that would rewrite multiple intelligence laws is currently in inter‑ministerial review after being prepared by the Bundeskanzleramt and the Interior Ministry.
- The plan would give the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) and the Verfassungsschutz (BfV) active operational tools such as rendering weapons harmless, redirecting or inspecting suspect packages, disabling servers and using disinformation to confuse adversaries.
- BfV president Sinan Selen and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt have publicly argued the changes are needed to meet threats from Russian hybrid tactics, foreign hackers, sabotage, espionage and extremist plots.
- Critics say the draft breaks the post‑war Trennungsgebot that kept spying separate from police coercion and warn of civil‑liberties risks, while government officials say they will strengthen independent oversight bodies.
- Concerns about oversight are immediate because the Parliamentary Control Committee currently has only one opposition member and vacant seats, raising doubts about its readiness to police the expanded powers and increasing the chance of legal and political challenges.