German government agrees to extend anti-terror laws

Jun 29, 2011, 10:48 GMT

Berlin - The German government has agreed to extend by four years anti-terror laws introduced after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the justice and interior ministers said Wednesday.

'The situation is generally more difficult for us than 10 years ago, because in Europe and in Germany we are now in the terrorists' direct line of fire,' Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said.

However, the situation had remained unchanged for 'some time' and there was no 'new or concrete' terror threat in Germany, he said.

The laws introduced after the 2001 attacks gave intelligence agencies authority to demand information about personal bank accounts, flights and telecommunications data among other things. They were due to expire at the end of this year.

A compromise was found after the coalition government spent a month wrangling over their renewal, the two ministers said.

Friedrich, of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sibling of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, gave up demands for more stringent laws, including fines for those who refused to give up information.

Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, of the Free Democrats - Merkel's junior coalition partner - succeeded in pushing through her demand that an independent committee be established to examine security law.

Late last year the government warned about possible terrorist attacks on tourist attractions including traditional Christmas markets. The dome of the Reichstag, one of Berlin's top tourist attractions, was temporarily closed to visitors.