Russia is said to have targeted the head of Germany’s largest arms company. There is great outrage, but also concern: German services are said not to have uncovered it.
In view of alleged Russian plans against the Rheinmetall boss, calls for more powers for the German security authorities are growing louder again. Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) made corresponding demands. Green Party deputy Konstantin von Notz then told the German Press Agency: “The situation is too serious to cook up party-political soup.” According to information from the US broadcaster CNN, American secret services are said to have uncovered the plot against the Rheinmetall boss.
Schuster told the “Bild” newspaper: “I have a massive problem with the fact that we constantly need information from abroad.” The security authorities there have “the tools with which they can gain this information, for which I cannot find a political majority here in Germany.”
Interior Minister: Get ahead of the situation
NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) told the “Bild” newspaper that the police and thus security can only be good if they also have information. “We have to get ahead of the situation, early information is the core of the whole business. Exciting information can no longer be found on the street or by hanging out in a bar, but on the Internet. So you need skills.”
Western intelligence services generally generate a lot of information through joint work, as former high-ranking employee of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and current security expert Gerhard Conrad explained in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. But it is also true that “the German services are much more restrictively regulated in intelligence, telecommunications intelligence and other areas”. They are not allowed to do what other services – especially in the USA – are allowed to do. “You have to consider whether these trade-offs that were made in the past are still viable today,” he said.
Schuster: Highly risky to have to rely on foreign countries
From Schuster’s and the Union’s point of view, the following are necessary: data retention, i.e. the storage of location and traffic data from telecommunications without cause in order to have them available for anti-terror investigations if necessary; so-called source telecommunications surveillance (source TKÜ), which takes effect before encryption or after decryption, and online searches. The state minister said: “These are the methods that allow the Americans to give us valuable information. But if we are not allowed to do anything – I think it is extremely risky to have to rely on information from abroad again and again.” Data retention has long been controversial.
Report: Plans uncovered
According to CNN, US intelligence services uncovered plans by the Russian government to assassinate the CEO of the largest German arms company Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, at the beginning of the year. The German side was then informed and the 61-year-old was subsequently given special protection. Rheinmetall is one of the largest European suppliers of tank technology and artillery shells for Ukraine. In June, the company opened a repair shop for infantry fighting vehicles in western Ukraine. The production of new tanks is also planned.
The Kremlin denied the alleged attack plans. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said that they would not comment on “individual threats”. “But one thing is clear: we take the significantly increased threat posed by Russian aggression very seriously.”
Greens: Working on reform
Green Party deputy leader von Notz said that good cooperation with partner services and rapid data and information exchange are essential for the work of the German intelligence services. “The investigative successes of the last few months show that many things are working well here. In addition, we are currently working on a comprehensive reform of the law governing intelligence services.”
The blanket thesis that there are tougher restrictions in Germany than in other constitutional states is misleading because the legal situation and the highest court rulings are much more differentiated, said von Notz. “It is true, however, that a country like the USA spends many times more money than Germany invests in this area. For this reason, we are calling for a special fund for internal and external security,” said the Green politician. “I can only say to my colleague Schuster that it would be good if Saxony also invested more money in the area of the state office.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
