German parliament approves new powers for intelligence agencies

Germany’s parliament on Friday approved a major overhaul of the country’s intelligence services, granting agencies expanded powers to intervene against security threats, including conducting sabotage operations abroad.

The legislation passed with 309 votes in favor, 190 against and 71 abstentions.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called these changes “the reform of the century.”

"We need to strengthen democracy against those who attack it – from both within and without," said Dobrindt during his speech in parliament.

The reform expands the authority of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), responsible for foreign intelligence, and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

Under certain conditions, the BfV will be permitted to move beyond gathering information and monitoring individuals to take action, including covertly entering private residences or intervening in cases involving explosives or weapons.

Arrests and overt searches will remain the exclusive responsibility of police.

The BND will also gain operational powers, including the ability to disable servers belonging to state-sponsored hacker groups abroad.

A panel of former judges will review the legality of specific measures before they are carried out.

The government says the changes respond to growing threats from foreign intelligence services, particularly those of Russia and China, and are intended to reduce dependence on intelligence supplied by allies.

However, opposition politicians and legal groups have warned that the expanded powers could weaken civil liberties and Germany’s postwar separation between intelligence gathering and policing.

That separation reflects the country’s experience with the Nazi-era Gestapo, which combined surveillance with powers to persecute political opponents and other targeted groups.

The German Bar Association warned that granting intelligence agencies powers to intervene directly would “jeopardize the constitutionally mandated separation between intelligence services and the police.” It also criticized weaker protections for confidential communications between lawyers and their clients.

Greens lawmaker Konstantin von Notz previously warned that the changes could allow intelligence agents to act against citizens without the transparency and legal scrutiny required of police.