1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
PoliticsGermany

Explained: How Germany will expand intel powers, and why

06:05

This browser does not support the video element.

Terry Martin | Michaela Kuefner
August 12, 2026

The government says the reforms are needed to tackle foreign threats from spying, sabotage, hybrid warfare and cyberattacks. The new powers will give intelligence services more freedom to conduct covert operations.

"We're developing our intelligence agencies into a genuine secret service,"Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindttold reporters during a press conference.

What are the main security threats that Germany faces right now, and from whom? DW's Chief Political Editor Michaela Küfner reports.

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW

More stories from DW