Germany warns of rising threats from extremists and foreign powers

Germany's domestic security service has warned that threats from hostile foreign powers and extremist groups are growing, in a report released in Berlin on Tuesday. The annual assessment from the BfV said Moscow-recruited saboteurs, Chinese spies, Iran-backed Islamist militants and violent neo-Nazis are among the main concerns. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the country's adversaries come from both outside and within.

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Mr Dobrindt presented the report in Berlin and called for very quick government action on proposals to expand the powers of Germany's intelligence agencies. He said the changes should include lifting some strict limits on covert operations. The minister said the greatest external threat currently comes from Russia, pointing to suspected low-level agents recruited to carry out espionage and sabotage.

The BfV said right-wing extremist groups remain a larger threat than those on the far left, although it noted a rise in violent incidents from both sides. It also said foreign powers are increasingly targeting exiled opposition figures and political activists living in Germany. According to the report, hostile states are using sabotage, illicit economic and political interference, assassination operations and disinformation as part of wider hybrid activity.

The warning comes at a time of heightened concern in Germany over security, political polarisation and the resilience of democratic institutions. The report's language suggests officials see the threat environment as broader than isolated criminal cases, with foreign intelligence activity and domestic extremism reinforcing one another. That makes the debate over surveillance powers and covert capabilities politically significant as well as operationally important.

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The BfV head, Sinan Selen, said Russia views Germany as a key adversary in Europe and uses the full range of tools in its hybrid operations across the continent. The report also said critics of authoritarian regimes living in Germany are being pursued using methods akin to state terrorism. It further noted that for the first time since World War II, a far-right party has come second in a German national election, underlining the scale of the political shift officials are confronting.

What remains unclear is how quickly the government can turn the minister's call into policy, and whether lawmakers will agree to broaden intelligence powers. The report does not provide public detail on the specific cases behind every warning, and it is not clear how many suspected operatives or incidents are under active investigation. The next developments to watch are any government response, parliamentary debate and further disclosures from security agencies about the scale of the threat.

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