Greens call for increased funding for internal security in Germany

As of: 9:02 a.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

AIn view of the additional tasks for the security authorities, the Green Party’s parliamentary group is calling for more money for internal security. “The draft budget presented by the Federal Ministry of the Interior does not yet adequately reflect the current threat situation and the resulting additional tasks of the security authorities,” says a joint statement by the Parliamentary Managing Director, Irene Mihalic, and the deputy parliamentary group leader, Konstantin von Notz.

In addition to the current demonstrations and the necessary protection of Jewish and Israeli institutions, new tasks – such as additional border security measures – have been added. The interior experts emphasized that there should be no compromises when it comes to combating terrorism.

Therefore, everyone involved is now called upon to examine intensively the extent to which the presentation of a “special internal security fund” is possible, wrote Mihalic and von Notz, who is chairman of the parliamentary control committee responsible for the secret services. They were referring to a proposal from the police union (GdP). “As Greens, we are open to the idea,” the two said.

The GdP chairman, Jochen Kopelke, called for a “special internal security fund” in a letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Tuesday – analogous to the planned investments in the Bundeswehr. “The current budget planning makes it impossible for federal authorities to fulfill their mandate to prevent threats to people,” the letter said. Both the fight against terrorism and the precautions to defend against hybrid attacks in Germany are underfunded. A spokeswoman for the union said upon request that a response to the letter had not yet been received.

The draft budget for 2024 approved by the cabinet provides a total of around 12.9 billion euros for the Federal Ministry of the Interior. This year around 13.1 billion euros are available.