The senior executive body of the German government has approved draft legislation that reforms the country’s intelligence services, following revelations that Germany helped the United States spy on European states. The legislation is seen as a response by the German government to a number of recent public controversies involving the Bundesnachrichtendienst, Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, known as BND.
In 2015, the BND was found to have
secretly collaborated with the US National Security Agency (NSA) in
spying on several European governments and private companies. According to German investigative magazine Der Spiegel,
the BND used its facilities at Germany’s Bad Aibling listening station
to help the NSA spy on, among other targets, the palace of the French
president in Paris, the headquarters of the European Commission in
Brussels, and the France-based European conglomerate Airbus. In response
to the revelations, Airbus filed a criminal complaint against the German government, while Belgium and Switzerland launched official investigations into the joint BND-NSA activities.
The extent of the BND-NSA collaboration
prompted widespread public criticism in Germany. In response to the
criticism, German Chancellor Angela Merkel promptly fired
the director of the BND in April of this year, in a move that surprised
many. Gerhard Schindler, who had headed the BND since 2012, was
replaced by Bruno Kahl, a senior official in the German Federal Ministry
of Finance, who did not come from within the ranks of the BND.
Additionally, the German chancellor authorized a parliamentary inquiry
into the operations of the BND, which was completed last spring. The
resulting 300-page report forms the basis of the draft legislation that
was approved on Tuesday by the German cabinet.
The new legislation bans the BND from
spying on foreign governments or corporations for the benefit of German
companies. It also prevents it from spying on targets within the
European Union, unless the operation pertains to “information to
recognize and confront threats to internal or external security”. This
is taken to mean operations relating to suspected terrorist activity
that directly threatens German national security. The legislation also
calls for the establishment of a new independent oversight body
consisting of senior judges and representatives of the Office of the
Federal Prosecutor, whose job will be to evaluate and approve the BND’s
proposed espionage activities against foreign targets.
The legislation will need to be finalized
through its approval by the German Federal Parliament, known as the
Bundestag. The body is expected to approve the legislation before the
beginning of its official summer break in mid-July.
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