Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has raised the alarm over what he describes as a heightened risk of drone attacks on the German Bundestag and the premises of other federal constitutional bodies. In a letter to Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU), reported by the Rheinische Post in its Saturday edition, Dobrindt stated that the rising number of drone sightings in recent months had put security authorities on high alert.
In his view, protecting the premises of the federal government's constitutional bodies requires what he called "a permanent drone defence capability."
"The protection of constitutional bodies takes on particular significance against the backdrop of the abstract threat level," the minister was quoted as saying. The letter was written in response to an inquiry from Bundestag President Klöckner, who had written to Dobrindt in December asking how the federal police's newly established drone defence unit could be deployed to protect parliament.
According to the report, Dobrindt's reply clarified that the federal police unit can only operate at the Bundestag on a temporary basis, within the framework of administrative assistance. He simultaneously pointed to the "primary responsibility" of the Berlin state police for securing the site.
The Bundestag administration has since written directly to Berlin's Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD), the Rheinische Post reported. In a letter from Bundestag Director Paul Göttke, following Dobrindt's clarification of responsibilities, it was stated that it is now "of particular importance to implement the necessary joint steps for effective drone defence as quickly as possible." Initial discussions on practical implementation are said to have already taken place.
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