In Europe they spoke about the absolute shock due to the scandal

The European Union (EU) called the arrest of the former head of German foreign intelligence (BND) August Hanning a disaster. Politico reports this with reference to sources close to the situation.

“This is a disaster for Germany and Western intelligence services. Everyone is in shock. The scale of what is happening is enormous. And given that investigators stumbled upon this while working on a completely different case, we will likely learn a lot more,” said one EU intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to the source, Hanning's arrest came at a very difficult time. Last week, German parliamentarians began discussing a new law giving the agency broad powers as part of the BND's return to a leading position in global espionage, Politico reports.