German intelligence treated as ‘second-class’ by Western counterparts
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German intelligence services are viewed with suspicion and considered “second-class” by their Western counterparts, due to a history of regular scandals and information leaks, the German tabloid Bild reported on Mar. 4, citing a source in one of the intelligence services.
According to the source, no one from the CIA or MI5 comes and says openly that they are no longer trusted, but it has rather been a gradual process.
"You are invited less often, and you find out about important meetings on certain issues later,” he said.
“In the world of intelligence, we are considered second class, and we are treated accordingly: we are not in the first league."
"Excessive regulation," with up to seven government agencies controlling foreign intelligence, is cited as one of the reasons. Unlike other Western countries, where information from partner intelligence services is protected, in Germany every secret is at risk of becoming public.
"Before you can use it in court cases or in investigative commissions, you have to ask the intelligence service where the information came from: it is their classified information. In Germany this is not the case, it is not protected, and every secret threatens to become public. We have to pass it on to courts and committees – it used to be regulated by the court, now by law."
As a result, German intelligence agencies are receiving less and less information from their partners because it is not secure.
During a 30-minute leaked conversation, which was posted online by the head of Russia’s state-backed RT channel, Margarita Simonyan, on Mar. 1, German Air Force officers discuss the possible delivery of Taurus weapons systems to Ukraine, as well as the possible targeting of the Kerch Bridge, which connects the annexed Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia.
On Mar. 2, CNN reported that Berlin would initiate an investigation.
“It will now be investigated very carefully, very intensively, and very quickly,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised.
A spokesperson of the German Defense Ministry confirmed to CNN the recording was authentic.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the British government had privately urged Germany to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles.
Senior British officials have repeatedly made it clear to Germany that Ukraine desperately needs its Taurus missiles. London offered a way to overcome Berlin’s resistance to supplying the missiles by proposing a swap deal. The UK would provide Kyiv with more of its Storm Shadow missiles, while Germany would then restock them with replacement long-range missiles.
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