CDU-Internal Ministers demand more competencies for authorities in preventing attacks
I have a major problem with the fact that we permanently require information from abroad," said Schuster to the newspaper. At the foreign security agencies, there are "the tools with which they gain these insights, for which I cannot find political majorities here in Germany," he continued - and referred to "valuable information" that German authorities receive from the USA, where security agencies have more powers.
He considered it "risky to always rely on insights from abroad," Schuster added.
His colleague from North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul (CDU), emphasized that Putin, the head of the Kremlin, "cannot simply murder someone in Germany." Reul told the "Bild" newspaper that there currently needs to be more efforts to improve the security situation. "Wishing for something brings nothing," he said. "We need to make concrete changes on site. Wherever police and justice come together and have common models, that bears fruit."
Reports of a planned attack on the CEO of Rheinmetall, a defense conglomerate, had previously caused outrage and calls for consequences in Germany. CNN reported on Thursday that US intelligence services had informed German authorities about planned attacks. These had allegedly been thwarted.
The "Spiegel" reported on Thursday evening, citing security circles, that western intelligence services had observed suspicious travels of alleged agents in the past months. The men were said to be from countries of the former Soviet Union, at least one from Russia.
Some of them had already been in the Schengen Area, others had planned entries. Suspicious individuals were reportedly detected not only near the Rheinmetall headquarters in Düsseldorf but also at Papperger's travel destinations abroad. However, there were not enough evidence for arrests.
The Kremlin denied the allegations. "Such reports cannot be taken seriously," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. "That's in the style of fake news."
- Schuster, the CDU Interior Minister, raised concerns about relying excessively on foreign information, particularly from the USA, during his interview with the Picture-Newspaper.
- Reul, his CDU counterpart in North Rhine-Westphalia, highlighted the necessity of strengthening domestic security, stating that Putin cannot arbitrarily harm individuals in Germany.
- Schuster expressed his unease with perpetually depending on foreign insights, citing the political challenges in obtaining majorities for such tools within Germany.
- The United States' security agencies possess competences that allow them to acquire valuable information, which German authorities receive but struggle to replicate domestically.
- Armin Schuster criticized the reliance on foreign insights, asserting that it could be risky in the long run and necessitates the development of Germany's own competences.
- The allegations of a planned attack on Rheinmetall's CEO sparked outrage in Germany, prompting calls for action following the revelation of US intelligence services' involvement.
- Western intelligence services, including those from the USA, reportedly observed suspicious travels of individuals suspected of being agents from Russia and other former Soviet Union countries.
- Buffered data storage ensured that German authorities had sufficient information about these suspected agents, although no concrete evidence existed for arrests.
- Amidst these revelations, the Kremlin dismissed the allegations as fake news and refused to acknowledge any involvement in planned attacks or suspicious activities.
