Germany’s intelligence agencies—particularly the BND (Germany’s key service abroad) has long operated under unique constraints compared to Western counterparts, therby making Germany more vulnerable to opaque threats.
But do Germans want their spies to do a better job?
No, they want them to be more transparent—that’s why they had the BND HQ built with many windows… (that’s actually what they said…). Thankfully, the tide might be turning.
The newly released CDU/SPD coalition agreement signals a potential shift—acknowledging past weaknesses while expanding capabilities. But will it be enough to close the gap?
1. Political Distrust and Legal Constraints
Unlike the U.S. or U.K., where intelligence agencies enjoy broad political support, Germany’s secret services face deep-seated suspicion rooted in historical trauma (Nazi Gestapo, Stasi surveillance, and a general dislike for anything to do with a strong state or military).
In the early days of the republic, German secret service was a safe haven for former Nazi officials and a parking spot for military personnel before Germany was allowed to have an army again.
Chancellors have historically shown little interest in intelligence briefings.
So ex-Chancellor Helmut Schmidt called the BND a bunch of dilettantes, underscoring that he preferred reading the paper. Understandable enough, if they are no good? But whose fault would that be? Surely the government decides about funding and staffing of the secret service?
2. The Snowden Effect: Germany’s Isolation
The 2013 NSA scandal exposed widespread U.S. surveillance, including the tapping of Chancellor Merkel’s phone. Yet Germany’s response diverged sharply from allies:
- Allies Moved Forward: The U.S., U.K., and France enhanced their surveillance powers, being stunned by all the data the US collected. Then President Obama said he was not gonna apologize for being better than others. And Germany? Instead of expanding capabilities, Germany launched a three-year parliamentary investigation into the BND-NSA cooperation.
- Surveillance Gaps: Remember the Reaper drone fiasco? Germany didn’t want to purchase the US Reaper drone, as many allies did, because “it can be armed”. (Big problem for Germans) They wasted billions on developing the Euro Hawk, which in the end wasn’t approved for EU airspace, only to then lease Israeli drones where the fact that they could be armed didn’t fall under German jurisdiction…
- With this mindset, you don’t need your enemies to do much—they just sit back and watch the self-destruction.)
3. Geopolitical Vulnerabilities
It is not like the world is becoming any safer. Germany’s weaknesses have real-world consequences:
- China’s Leverage: As China became Germany’s top trade partner, Berlin avoided confrontations—even delaying COVID flight bans to avoid offending Beijing.
- The U.S. spies on the German chancellor Merkel’s phone? Oh well… Germany told the U.S., that they were unhappy about it but didn’t invest to make sure it would not happen again.
- Russian Threats: From sabotage to propaganda, Russians are everywhere.
- Rising far-right, far-left, and Islamist terror (occasionally Russian false flags) – the threats aren’t decreasing.
Key Reforms in the Coalition Agreement
So thankfully the new German government under chancellor-elect Merz seems willing to turn the tide.
The government coalition plans for:
✅ Enhanced funding especially against cybercrime, espionage, and sabotage
✅ Legal modernization to improve data-sharing between agencies (e.g., loosening deletion deadlines)
✅ More efficient oversight—balancing expanded powers with constitutional safeguards
(Why more constitutional safeguards would be needed, when every MP already can cite every security officer to report, but they rarely do? The social democrats only know…)
A “National Security Council”?
The coalition plans to upgrade the Federal Security Council, an entity coming together once in a blue moon with few key ministers to talk security and weapon exports. So now they want to call it National Security Council, as they do in the US. But calling it like in America won’t make it useful, like in America. And currently, the president of German intelligence briefs the German chancellor how many times a week? Correct, not even once. Well, why should they, if they don’t have anything interesting to report, as they are not funded well enough to be up to the task?
A Final Thought
A state that fears its spies more than its enemies may find itself defenseless when threats arrive.
Let’s hope the CDU/SPD government will deliver.
