Erfurt / Leipzig. According to the Thuringian CDU internal politician Raymond Walk, the construction of the joint police interception center of five East German federal states is progressing far too slowly. “Too little has happened within several years. This means that the countries involved have to keep their own capacities available and that causes additional costs,” said Walk of the German press agency in Erfurt. The states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin and Brandenburg want to bundle the telecommunications surveillance (TKÜ) of serious criminals in the eavesdropping center in Leipzig.
The project has been discussed since 2015, and since 2017 it has been firmly agreed between the countries by state treaty, said Walk. For example, the Europe-wide invitation to tender for the surveillance system was significantly delayed and, to the best of his knowledge, questions relating to data protection and personnel have not yet been finally clarified. “I cannot imagine that the eavesdropping center will really start working before 2023. Until then we will be operating in parallel. After all, there must be no security gaps.”
One in five data centers
Walk fears that the efficiency effects of such a network solution, which acts as a service provider for several countries, will fizzle out due to the long construction time. The interior committee of the Thuringian state parliament had figures available, according to which the necessary investments for the state should be about half as high as if it were to invest alone.
“My group demands that the joint center for telecommunications surveillance of the federal states is now operational as soon as possible.” Instead of five data centers in five countries, there should finally only be one. This also includes the delegation and training of staff, said the CDU MP. According to current plans, the TKÜ should have 35 employees.
