In the debate about the “Taurus” wiretapping affair, Federal Interior Minister Faeser emphasizes the defense capability of German secret services. The Union is not making fast enough progress in clearing up Russian espionage.
As a result of the so-called “Taurus” wiretapping affair, German politicians are discussing the correct and necessary protection against Russian espionage. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser believes that the Federal Republic’s secret services are already well prepared.
The SPD politician emphasized to the newspapers of the Funke media group that the SPD politician’s own “protective measures against espionage and disinformation” have been further increased and the counter-espionage efforts at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution have been significantly strengthened in terms of personnel and technology. Combating Russian intelligence activities remains a key focus of counterintelligence. The aim of the “propaganda apparatus” of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin is to “discredit our state, manipulate the formation of opinions and divide our society,” warned Faeser. But that won’t work.
SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil made a similar statement: “Putin is trying to divide our politics and our society.” The investigation into the wiretapping affair should therefore not be mixed with “demands that are immediately obvious as party-politically motivated.”
The US government also sees the wiretapping case as a “brazen and transparent attempt by the Russians to sow discord.” In this way, Russia is trying to make it appear as if the West is not united and as if there is no agreement within the government in Germany about what it is doing, said the communications director of the US National Security Council, John Kirby.
Defense Committee should discuss at the beginning of next week
The extent to which German “institutions are prepared for a hybrid attack” will probably be the subject of a special meeting of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee on Monday, as its chairwoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann announced in the “Rheinische Post”. By then, more information about the wiretapping affair would be available.
Among other things, the Military Counterintelligence Service is investigating how Russia was able to obtain the recording of conversations between high-ranking Bundeswehr officers that was leaked on Friday. In it you can hear Air Force chief Ingo Gerhartz talking to three subordinates about the possible use of German “Taurus” cruise missiles in Ukraine against the Russian attackers.
Strack-Zimmermann once again called for decisions to be made about how to deal with the wiretapping affair “with all seriousness, but also sovereignty” – and was aimed primarily at the opposition. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also called for prudence in dealing with the wiretapping scandal.
Union is pushing for faster clarification
But the investigation into the wiretapping case is getting off to a slow start for the Union. The special session scheduled for the beginning of next week comes far too late for Thorsten Frei, the Union’s parliamentary manager in the Bundestag. This is “completely inappropriate,” says a letter from the CDU politician to Bundestag President Bärbel Bas, from which the “Rheinische Post” quoted. Instead, the committee must meet this week, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz must also attend the meeting.
The Union is also using the debate to revisit a goal that was already set during the 2021 election campaign: a National Security Council for Germany. “In such crisis cases, he can take over political control,” said the deputy chairman of the Defense Committee, Henning Otte, in the “Rheinische Post”. The CDU politician criticized the need to become even clearer in view of the Federal Government’s lack of unity in dealing with Russian espionage: While Chancellor Scholz spoke of a “serious situation”, Defense Minister Pistorius simply warned against “falling for Putin”.
Scholz remains “no” to “Taurus” deliveries
After the leaked recording of the conversation emerged, Scholz reiterated his rejection of the “Taurus” delivery to Ukraine, which he had repeated for months. Neither the Bundeswehr nor NATO are allowed to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine.
The Union, on the other hand, has long been pushing for the required cruise missiles to be made available to the Ukrainian military – and there are also supporters of the delivery in the ranks of the traffic light parties, including the Greens and FDP. Strack-Zimmermann had agreed to a request from the Union in the Bundestag to approve the “Taurus” delivery. However, the motion did not receive a majority.
If there were another attempt, there could be more votes in the FDP for such a proposal, said Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki in the “Münchner Merkur”. For him too, the point would probably have been reached to vote for the delivery.
Georg Schwarte, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, March 5, 2024 8:10 a.m