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De Maizière wants to change the constitution to allow a state of emergency
Thomas de Maizière wants to create the possibility of declaring a state of emergency for future crises
Source: dpa / Kay Nietfeld
In order to better react to crises, former Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière intends to change the constitution. An interdepartmental crisis team should have the right to issue instructions. The domestic deployments of the Bundeswehr should also be discussed.
meFederal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (CDU) calls for an amendment to the Basic Law to create the possibility of a temporary state of emergency for future crises in Germany. The current decision-making process, for example the Prime Minister’s Conference, is “good for normal cases” but takes too much time, said de Maizière of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”.
In a crisis you need speed, commitment and clear responsibilities. For this, “the regulation of the state of emergency for Germany” is essential.
According to the CDU member of the Bundestag, possible future crises could be a cyber attack, a power outage or cross-border forest fires. If this happens, the former minister suggests the formation of a “crisis team that encompasses all departments and levels” with new powers of intervention and the right to give instructions to the federal states.
Freedom of expression should not be restricted
With a view to the current situation of the pandemic, de Maizière explained: “If the Saarland then wants to experiment to alleviate the pandemic, for example, it can allow that to happen or prohibit it.”
De Maizière, who was federal defense minister between 2011 and 2013, also had to discuss “the deployment of the Bundeswehr in the interior”. Soldiers should, for example, be able to protect buildings and areas or regulate traffic in a crisis. But he must not “make arrests or house searches.” It is only about supporting sovereign tasks under the leadership of the police.
Certain “basic emergency rights”, such as freedom of expression, should not be touched. “The loss of basic rights is limited to what is necessary to overcome the crisis for a short period of time.” De Maizière assured that this state of emergency must always be limited in time and democratically legitimized. “That must be decided by parliament.”
The German Basic Law does not yet provide for a state of emergency, as can be imposed in France, for example. Instead, the Bundestag passed the so-called emergency laws in 1968. They have never been used to this day.
