Federal Security Council

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The Federal Security Council (BSR) is a committee of the German Federal Cabinet that serves as a control and coordination body for security policy . It was founded in October 1955 by the Adenauer II cabinet under the name of the Federal Defense Council (until 1969). The Federal Chancellor presides over it , only from 1964 to 1967 there was a separate Federal Ministry for the affairs of the Federal Defense Council .

The Security Cabinet as an informal, occasionally convened discussion group is to be distinguished from the Federal Security Council as a permanent body .

Work of the Federal Defense Council

In 1955, the Allied agencies in the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria were dissolved (see Germany Treaty and Austrian State Treaty ), the Federal Republic of Germany joined NATO and the Warsaw Pact was founded. During this time the council was founded as a cabinet committee of the federal government for security policy , which was designed in such a way that even the rules of procedure provided for the possibility of forming inter-ministerial committees.

Tasks of the BSR

Since the 1980s, however, the importance of the Federal Security Council has narrowed and its field of activity has been essentially limited to the arms export policy , which is regulated in the Basic Law ( Art. 26, Paragraph 2). For example:

In the coalition agreement of the red-green federal government in 1998, the Federal Security Council was given more importance again for the first time:

“The new Federal Government will return the Federal Security Council to its originally intended role as an organ for coordinating German security policy and create the necessary conditions for this. [...] The transnational European arms industry is subject to a binding European code of conduct for its export activities . The new federal government is working towards ensuring that a transparency requirement and the human rights status of possible recipient countries should be included as criteria. The national German arms exports outside of NATO and the EU are handled restrictively. In arms export decisions, the human rights status of possible recipient countries is introduced as an additional decision criterion. The new federal government will submit an arms export report to the German Bundestag every year . "

- Coalition agreement between the SPD and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen from 1998

The greater weighting of the situation in the recipient countries of arms exports has made decisions in the Security Council more difficult. While in the governments before Chancellor Gerhard Schröder attention was paid to a consensual decision of the secret council that met its members to maintain secrecy, majority decisions have now been introduced and conference items are increasingly being reported in the press.

According to the arms export report (first report 1999), around 10,000 armaments exports per year requiring approval, only the politically most important are made public.

Members

The BSR has nine members: the Federal Chancellor, the Head of the Federal Chancellery , the Federal Ministers for Foreign Affairs , Defense , Finance , the Interior , Justice and the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs . After the Bundestag election in 1998 , the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development joined them. Other Federal Ministers and the Inspector General of the Federal Armed Forces take part in the meetings in an advisory capacity if necessary. The head of the office of the Federal President also has observer status at the meetings.

Legal basis

The basis for controlling the arms trade in the Federal Republic of Germany is Article 26, Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law : “Weapons intended for warfare may only be manufactured, transported and placed on the market with the approval of the Federal Government. A federal law regulates the details. ” The detailed regulation provided for in the Basic Law is intended to guarantee two laws: the War Weapons Control Act (KrWaffKontrG) and the Foreign Trade Act (AWG).

The legal basis for the export of war weapons and other armaments are the KrWaffKontrG, the AWG and their Foreign Trade Ordinance (AWV). In addition to the AWG and AWV, the legal basis for the export of dual-use goods (goods that can be used both for civil and military purposes) is the EC Dual Use Regulation . It regulates the control of sensitive exports and shipments (exports within the European Community ) as well as certain sensitive services (technical support) and, to a certain extent, merchanting. The competent authority for dual-use goods is the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA). The EC regulations for the implementation of economic sanctions ( embargoes ) against certain countries must also be observed .

The Federal Security Council is not subject to any parliamentary control by the German Bundestag. However, no decision can be made that requires a resolution by the Bundestag if the Basic Law or a federal law so require. This was e.g. For example, when parliament had to decide on the Bundeswehr's foreign deployments .

Organizational and political classification in government work

As a body made up of ministers and the Federal Chancellor, the Federal Security Council falls within the executive scope of the federal government. As a result, there is no parliamentary control or any form of accountability to the Bundestag, which would not have defined this itself in advance.

literature

  • Robert Glawe: The Federal Security Council as a security and armaments coordination element. In: Deutsches Verwaltungsblatt 2012, p. 329 ff.
  • Jan Zähle: The Federal Security Council . In: The State . tape 44 , 2005, pp. 462 ff .

Web links

  • Rules of Procedure of the Federal Security Council dated August 12, 2015 ( BT-Drs. 18/5773 )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arndt Schmehl , Der Staat , Volume 44 (2005), p. 470
  2. ↑ Judith Siwert-Probst: The classic foreign policy institutions . In: Wolf-Dieter Eberwein, Karl Kaiser (Ed.): Germany's new foreign policy, Volume 4: Institutions and resources. Oldenbourg, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-486-56115-4 , pp. 13-28, here pp. 18 f. ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ↑ Politics compact: Schwan does not want to call the GDR an "unjust state" . In: sueddeutsche.de . May 17, 2010.
  4. ↑ Germany sells 200 battle tanks in Saudi Arabia , Der Spiegel , accessed on July 2, 2011
  5. ↑ § 2 and § 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Federal Security Council of August 12, 2015 ( BT-Drs. 18/5773 )
  6. ↑ Time to Act - Stopping the Torture Business , Amnesty, Germany
  7. ↑ BVerfG , judgment of May 7, 2008, Az. 2 BvE 1/03, BVerfGE 121, 135 - Airspace surveillance Turkey