The German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has demanded more information about NATO weaknesses revealed during military exercises, raising concerns that the information could be passed on to the Kremlin, writes Politico.
The AfD, which regularly takes a Kremlin-friendly stance, has shown keen interest in NATO’s Hedgehog 2025 military exercises in Estonia last year. During the exercises, Ukrainian drone experts used tactics learned on the battlefield to “destroy” NATO units in a war games.
In a letter seen by Politico, Rüdiger Lucassen, the AfD’s defense spokesman, asked the government to present the findings of the exercises to the parliament’s defense committee. He asked in the letter to explain what shortcomings have been revealed, especially in the areas of protection against drones, electronic attacks, command capabilities and the protection of mobile units. He also asked to explain what the existing shortcomings are and when they are planned to be eliminated.
This is not the first time that the AfD has caused concern by requesting information that could also be of interest to Russia, and Germany’s ruling coalition has raised the alarm. Florian Dorn, a member of the defense commission, told Politico that, given the actions and issues of individual parties, one must ask who the AfD actually serves and whose interests it represents. He stressed that such information falling into the wrong hands endangers security and defense capabilities.
The German political system provides that
opposition parties have considerable rights to demand answers from the government.
Ministries are allowed to withhold confidential information, but in general they must respond to official requests.
The military exercise assessment not only describes what went wrong, but also explains how vulnerable units were, how quickly they were neutralized, and how long it took to resolve any identified problems. European security officials believe that Russia and other hostile forces are sifting through publicly available information to gain a clearer picture of operational trends. Especially when it comes to the use of drones, knowing how long vulnerabilities might persist provides a strategic advantage.
Thomas Erndl, a member of the German Christian Democrats’ defense committee, also warned of the risks, including that defense-related information could fall into the wrong hands. He added that ministries weigh these risks when responding to parliamentary requests.
A senior NATO military official told Politico that the specific AfD request had not raised deep concerns within the alliance, but that all alliance members carefully consider what information is made public.
The controversial questions about “Hedgehog 2025” follow previous disputes with the AfD,
when party members submitted detailed questions about military logistics, infrastructure protection and security systems. Last year, Georg Maier, the interior minister of the eastern German state of Thuringia, accused the AfD of using parliamentary questions to systematically spy on critical infrastructure, suggesting in an interview with Handelsblatt that the party was fulfilling what he called “the Kremlin’s to-do list” point by point.
According to a report in the German newspaper Welt, since October 2024, the interior ministry has collected 58 requests from the AfD related to critical infrastructure, including police IT systems, drone protection, military logistics, energy networks, water supply and civil protection.
Lukassen rejected the suggestion that the party had ulterior motives and called his request a tool for parliamentary oversight. In an email to Politico, the MP said that lawmakers should rely on official military assessments, not media reports, to support the armed forces with legislation and budget decisions.
Meanwhile, a German court has ordered the AfD not to be classified as an extremist organization for the time being, but a final decision on the matter has not yet been made, Reuters reports. The court ruling said there remained strong suspicions that AfD officials were working against constitutional rights and freedoms, including religious freedom. At the same time, there was insufficient evidence to suggest that this applies to the party as a whole.
Read also: With power so close, Germany’s far right seeks to improve its image
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