Germany Grants Spies Offensive Powers for First Time in 80 Years
After World War II, Berlin deliberately restricted intelligence work, but threats from Russia and unreliable allies are pushing Merz's government toward a radical shift.
After World War II, Berlin deliberately restricted intelligence work, but threats from Russia and unreliable allies are pushing Merz's government toward a radical shift.
Germany's government, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, on Wednesday adopted a proposal to reform the intelligence system that would allow the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) to carry out sabotage, offensive cyber operations, and significantly more aggressive espionage actions. This is the first such move since the end of World War II, when Germany deliberately imposed strict restrictions to prevent abuses like those of the Nazi era.
The post-war foreign intelligence service was founded in 1956, and its agents have so far been largely limited to collecting data. The legal frameworks were significantly more restrictive than in most other countries, making Berlin heavily dependent on intelligence from the United States.
Two key reasons drive this historic shift. The first is the increasingly serious danger of Russian sabotage and influence operations, and the second is the fear that U.S. President Donald Trump could restrict intelligence sharing or use it as a tool of political pressure.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters in Berlin that Germany is exposed daily to espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks, and covert operations by foreign powers aimed at destabilizing the country, causing it harm, and prompting political and social change. He added that the state must continuously adapt its protective role to new types of threats. In an interview with Bild, he said: "We are turning our intelligence services into real secret services," adding: "It is high time we positioned ourselves to be competitive and on par with our partner services worldwide. This requires operational capabilities and active powers to more effectively combat modern state terrorism and extremist groups."
Nina Warken, head of the Chancellery office responsible for BND reform, emphasized that Germany has so far relied too heavily on partners in too many security areas. In her words, the country depends too much on intelligence assistance from other states, and in many areas, that help is one-way.
BND President Martin Jäger was even more direct, saying Germany must show adversaries "that we are in a position to do similar things so that the other side also feels the pain."
The debate over strengthening powers intensified after a drone with explosives was spotted last week near a Ukrainian Antonov aircraft carrying ammunition at Leipzig/Halle airport in eastern Germany. Dobrindt did not directly accuse Russia of the incident but assessed that the hybrid threat is obvious and that such operations often lie behind foreign powers. The results of the investigation are still pending.
The decision comes as the country recovers from two attacks within a month that exposed serious security lapses: a deadly car attack at Berlin's Pride parade and the recent discovery of a drone with explosives at Leipzig airport.
According to last year's report by Germany's domestic intelligence service, the security situation in the country has significantly deteriorated since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The new reform would allow German services to respond to hybrid threats like the one in Leipzig not only by gathering data but also through active operations. Among the planned measures are publicly exposing those responsible, destroying their property, disabling explosives before a planned attack, and feeding false intelligence to the adversary. Each countermeasure would have to be directly linked to the initial attack and must not endanger human lives.
According to the draft law, which is over 700 pages, German spies will be allowed to manipulate or delete data in so-called "hack-back" cyberattacks. Other options include altering weapons manufacturing instructions, disabling weapons during production, or replacing explosives with harmless substances. Digital payments to low-level agents hired one-off by foreign governments could be blocked to prevent attacks.
Dobrindt stressed that the technical capabilities of the services are being expanded and they are being given active, operational powers. The goal is not only to enable better collection and analysis of information but also to actively act against attackers and adversaries.
At the same time, the BND should be freed from some data protection restrictions, opening space for broader use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition systems. Merz's government has increased the BND's budget this year by about 26 percent, to 1.51 billion euros. The reform still needs approval from both houses of the German parliament and is expected to take effect by 2027.
The controversial changes, which still must pass parliament, largely align with the wish list of the foreign (BND) and domestic (BfV) intelligence services, which have long complained that Germany lags behind its allies. The revision of the BND Act will more than double the number of provisions or individual rules that define the agency's powers. This is partly necessary because the BND will gain significantly broader authority over intelligence gathered from intercepting digital communications.
