Overview

• At a Berlin inauguration, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the foreign intelligence service must operate at the highest level and vowed better equipment plus clearer legal authority.
• New president Martin Jäger, a veteran of postings in Kyiv, Baghdad and Kabul, pledged to take controlled, higher risks to secure information and to confront adversaries when necessary.
• Kanzleramtschef Thorsten Frei set a priority of stronger operational capabilities and deeper cooperation with the Bundeswehr and partner services, enabled by legal and technical upgrades.
• Parliamentary overseers and opposition figures, including Marc Henrichmann and the Greens’ Konstantin von Notz, pressed for threat‑adapted powers, more personnel, advanced technology and a reform that strengthens both the services and their control.
• Jäger succeeds Bruno Kahl, who becomes ambassador to the Holy See, and will lead roughly 6,500 staff, with his formal assumption of command scheduled for Monday.