German government acknowledges ‘shortcomings’ at spy agency

Jahrelang hätten die deutschen Geheimdienste der NSA bei der Spionage geholfen, schreibt die Washington Post. Es sei offensichtlich, so die Bundestagsabgeordnete Martina Renner, dass der BND Parlament und Regierung über diese Zusammenarbeit belogen habe.

The German government acknowledged “shortcomings” at the country’s foreign intelligence agency Thursday, following allegations that it may have helped the United States spy on Europeans.

German weekly Der Spiegel reported on its website Thursday that the Federal Intelligence Agency for years monitored telecoms traffic using filters provided by the U.S. National Security Agency. The magazine reports that by 2008 German intelligence agents had discovered that some of the filters — known as selectors — related to European arms companies and French authorities. But spy chiefs reportedly failed to inform the government for several more years until the agency, known by its acronym BND, came under parliamentary investigation over its links to the NSA in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations.

“It’s obvious that the BND for years lied to Parliament and to the government about the extent and purpose of its cooperation with the NSA,” said Martina Renner, a Left Party lawmaker who sits on the parliamentary intelligence oversight committee.

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