German spy chief calls for more operational freedom to counter threats

Germany should beef up its intelligence services and allow them more freedom to act in the face of a range of hybrid threats from Russia, the head of the

country's foreign intelligence service said on Friday.



After decades of self-imposed caution over state spying and surveillance following World War Two, German politicians and security officials have been pressing to allow its foreign and domestic intelligence agencies greater leeway to act in the face of what they see as an increased threat from Russia.



"The threat emanating from hybrid warfare has been recognized," Martin Jaeger, head of the BND, Germany's foreign intelligence service, told a panel at the Munich Security Conference.



"Deterrence is not working yet. This raises the question, do we simply want to continue to observe and record these developments, or have we reached a point where we must take active countermeasures?"



"This question also applies to my service, the BND. In my opinion, the service must and will become more operational," he said.