Status: 06/19/2022 3:13 p.m
A week before the G7 summit in Elmau Castle in Bavaria, confidential police documents from the 2015 meeting have surfaced online. Among other things, they contain the travel routes planned for the politicians at the time.
A few days before the start of the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau, confidential police documents from the 2015 meeting of the heads of government there were published. Among the files are several documents that have been declared classified – for example on the procedure for arrests, on securing police vehicles and on the de-escalation concept. Several sources in security circles confirmed to the dpa news agency that the documents were authentic.
At first he had BR reported on the release. The documents should also deal with the police’s tactics and the politicians’ planned arrival routes at the time. It is still unclear who put the data on the Internet. They were available, among other things, on a portal classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a left-wing extremist effort.
No adjustment of the security concept
The G7 summit, chaired by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, is planned for June 26-28 at Elmau Castle. The security measures have therefore already been increased. Since 6 a.m. today, the area within a radius of 16 kilometers around the conference hotel has been closed and is only accessible to accredited persons.
Bavaria’s interior minister sees no reason to adjust the security concept because of the leaked documents. “We are currently assuming that it is not critical for the operation that is now imminent,” said Joachim Herrmann of the dpa. “We do some things similar to seven years ago. But the police also do a lot differently than seven years ago. In this respect, no direct conclusions can be drawn from what has been published about the actions of the police in the next few days.”
Controls at all German borders
The Federal Ministry of the Interior had previously announced that it would temporarily control all German borders with neighboring countries. The reason is increased safety requirements around the summit. The border controls are to be carried out flexibly in terms of time and location until July 3, depending on the respective situation.
Checks are not only made on the roads, but also on trains and on hiking trails. “We ask travelers to have their documents ready to hand so that they can be processed quickly,” said a spokesman for the federal police. The measures should contribute to the safety of the population, but also to the peaceful course of the planned demonstrations. The arrival of possible violent criminals from abroad should be prevented.
Cooperation between democracies as a priority
In the run-up to the summit, Scholz had announced that strengthening cooperation between democracies worldwide would be a priority of the summit. “It would be a special success if the summit could be the starting point for a new look at the world of democracy,” Scholz told the dpa news agency. The understanding of democracy does not go far enough if one concentrates on the classic West, i.e. the states of the “Group of Seven”. In addition to Germany, it also includes the USA, Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan.
“The big, powerful democracies of the future are in Asia, Africa and South America and will be our partners,” said Scholz. “We have to look at the whole globe and not only have a reduced view of Europe, North America and Japan.” That is why he deliberately invited five guests: the heads of state and government of Indonesia, India, South Africa, Senegal and Argentina.
Ukraine and climate protection also on the agenda
But the long-term support for Ukraine should also be discussed. “It is clear, and we will assure you again there as the G7, that we will support Ukraine for as long as it is necessary,” said Scholz. “Putin apparently hopes that things will settle down once he has conquered enough land and the international community gets back to business as usual. That is an illusion.” The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is connected to the deliberations in Elmau via video.
In addition, Scholz wants to promote his idea of the climate club, which dates back to his time as finance minister: “The states that are on the way together for more climate protection should be able to work together in the way we imagine it to be for the whole world is the idea of the climate club, which wants to establish comparable rules for CO2 consumption.”