As of: March 26, 2024, 4:20 p.m
By: Paula Völkner
Comments
Press
Split
The attack in Moscow has sparked a security debate.
Germany was often warned about attacks from abroad.
The CDU wants to change that.
Munich - In the past, terrorist attacks in Germany could not always be thwarted, but they could be thwarted several times, as figures from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) confirmed in December 2023.
According to the BKA, a total of 18 terrorist attacks have been prevented in Germany since 2010.
Essential information about planned attacks often came from abroad.
The CDU now wants to change that and expand the powers of the German police and intelligence services.
The Union's parliamentary manager, Thorsten Frei, wants to end Germany's dependence on foreign intelligence services, he told the
Augsburger Allgemeine
.
It is about exchange between the countries and Germany must, like other countries, be able to provide information.
Instruments such as online searches and the evaluation of video surveillance using facial recognition should be used to combat terrorism, demanded Frei.
Thorsten Frei (CDU), First Parliamentary Managing Director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in an interview with dpa in Berlin (archive image) © Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
The CDU reacts to the attack in Moscow
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul also joined Frei's calls for more powers to combat terrorism.
Internet connections and telephone connections, said Reul on
Deutschlandfunk
, should be able to be traced “after a certain time” in order to combat terror.
The CDU is reacting to the attack in Moscow, in which more than 130 people were killed in a concert hall on Friday.
Moscow was also warned about the attack that was carried out on the concert hall on Friday.
However, Russian President Putin dismissed the US warning, saying it was “outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society,” Der
Spiegel
reported .
The USA also warned Germany of planned terrorist attacks
It is no coincidence that information about planned terrorist attacks comes from the USA.
In December 2023, two young people were arrested at a Christmas market in Leverkusen.
This tip that the two suspected Islamists were planning an attack also came from the USA.
My news
Sweater, park bench, daffodils: The hidden messages in Princess Kate's video reading
Putin wants an “empire” – also with the help of Soviet material: “Losses are an acceptable price” read
Seriously injured ski jumping ace with devastating bedside diagnosis
“Show of Force”: There is also a crunch between Russia and NATO
22 mins ago
Bridge accident in Baltimore: Governor names number of missing people - FBI agent explains mission reading
“That’s disrespectful”: Civil servants earn as little as citizens’ benefit recipients – and the traffic lights are watching
Since the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, US secret services have had far more leeway in monitoring suspicious online activities or listening in on telephone conversations than is the case in Germany.
With a view to combating terrorism, the actions of the US secret services are more effective.
However, data protection often falls by the wayside.
Difficult trade-off: data protection vs. security
The federal chairman of the police union, Jochen Kopelke, pointed out to
WDR
in December 2023 that the police and German secret services often have their hands tied by strict data protection rules.
At the time, terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), however, expressed himself positively with regard to the cooperation between foreign intelligence services: “This shows that the international framework that has been built up over the last 20 years to defend against international terrorism operate, works well.”
The CDU's application to combat terrorism by storing IP addresses rejected
In January 2024, the Union submitted a motion to the Bundestag entitled “Prevent terrorist attacks – take more decisive action against potential terrorists to protect our population”.
In this motion, the Union parliamentary group also pointed out that in recent years half of the planned terrorist attacks in Germany had only been prevented by information from foreign secret services.
The CDU and CSU demanded, among other things, the storage of IP addresses to combat terrorism and the power to conduct online searches for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
The application was rejected in the Bundestag.
Faeser called the danger acute and announced security measures at the European Football Championship: Not enough for the CDU
The terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Moscow on Friday.
It can be assumed that "the terrorist group 'Islamic State Khorosan Province' is responsible for the murderous terrorist attack near Moscow," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
and called the danger from Islamist terror "acute."
A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior assured
afp
on Monday that security measures in Germany were “already high”.
Terrorist attack near Moscow: The attackers set fire to the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow in the terrorist attack.
© Sergei Vedyashkin/Moscow News Agency/AP/dpa
For the European Football Championship, Faeser announced national border controls that are intended to ensure more security.
For the CDU, the measure does not go far enough.
The CDU internal politician Frei called for more money, staff and “in particular the necessary legal instruments” for the security authorities with regard to the European Football Championship.
Major events like this have already been the target of terrorist attacks in the past, emphasized Frei.
(pav)