BERLIN — Amid a growing wave of hybrid aggression from state and non-state actors, with Russia topping regional security concerns, the German federal cabinet has given formal approval to landmark draft legislation that would dramatically expand the operational powers of the country’s top intelligence agencies. The reform, which still needs a green light from the national parliament to take effect, is designed to shore up the capabilities of both the external Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and domestic Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), while cutting Germany’s heavy reliance on intelligence sharing from allied nations.
For decades, Germany’s intelligence agencies have operated with narrower legal authority than peer services across major European states. This constrained framework stems from the country’s deep historical sensitivity to unchecked state surveillance, shaped by the mass repression carried out by the Nazi Gestapo and later the Stasi, the secret police of communist East Germany. Strict data protection norms have remained a core priority for German policy in the decades after reunification.
But shifting global security dynamics have pushed the current government to pursue a major overhaul. Nina Warken, chief of staff to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the official tasked with overseeing intelligence agencies, framed the change as a long-overdue response to persistent targeting of Germany. “Nowadays, Germany is constantly a target of hybrid attacks by foreign powers and that is a real, very acute danger,” Warken stated. “We are simply too dependent on the intelligence services of other countries supporting us, and at the moment this help is a one-way street in too many areas.”
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt emphasized that the reform will bring German intelligence capabilities in line with international partners. “We are developing our intelligence services into real intelligence services,” Dobrindt said. “The threats Germany now faces require intelligence services that are competitive with our partner services in the European Union, but also with friendly services beyond that.”
He added that foreign adversaries have mounted constant pressure against the country: “We are a daily target of espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and hidden actions by foreign powers with the aim of destabilizing our country, damaging our country, and bringing about political and social changes in our country.”
The new framework grants German intelligence agencies expanded legal access to personal devices including laptops and smartphones, alongside permission to store collected intelligence data. Critically, it also authorizes the agencies to carry out a range of proactive offensive measures that were previously off-limits.
For example, the BND will be allowed to replace legitimate hardware in transited deliveries with defective components to disrupt adversary operations. Agents will also be able to infiltrate the IT systems of drone manufacturing facilities and chemical weapons laboratories to sabotage adversarial projects. The new rules also allow intelligence services to shut down or disable servers operated by foreign-linked hackers and state-backed disinformation campaigns, and to swap explosive materials for inert, harmless substances in targeted operations.
Plans for the reform have been in development for months, but the urgency of the proposal was underscored just last week by a high-profile security incident: an unexplained drone carrying explosives was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport, a critical European cargo hub that also logistically supports Ukraine’s military efforts against Russia. The incident remains under active investigation, and German authorities have not yet publicly named any potential perpetrators.
While senior officials stopped short of explicitly naming the primary adversary driving the reform, Russian hostile activity has been a persistent top security concern for governments across the European continent in the years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, making it the clear implicit focus of the new policy.