German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has defended plans to give security authorities greater investigative powers, accusing critics of putting people's safety at risk amid what he described as a heightened threat to Germany.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate on his ministry's 2027 budget, Dobrindt, of the conservative Christian Social Union, said the proposed powers were necessary to "protect our freedom."
"The threat level is high and is coming from different places," Dobrindt said.
He pointed to an explosives-laden drone discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport as evidence of the security challenges facing Germany, adding that Russia was clearly behind the incident and that it was "not an isolated event."
Dobrindt has pushed for stronger measures against drones and hybrid threats. He said under his leadership, the federal and state governments have established a new joint drone defense center, while a Joint Center for Countering Hybrid Threats (GAZ Hybrid) opened in June.
"We are rebuilding the pillars of security architecture," Dobrindt said on Thursday.
The Interior Ministry's budget is set to increase by more than €950 million ($1.1 billion) to €16.7 billion ($19.5 billion).
The Federal Criminal Police Office and Federal Police are among the agencies set to receive additional personnel.
Germany's Federal Office for Information Security, which is responsible for cybersecurity, is also due to receive more funding.
Sonja Eichwede, deputy parliamentary leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party, highlighted additional spending planned for the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, saying it was important for civil protection and disaster response.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has defended the government's tougher migration policy, pointing to a sharp fall in asylum applications and continued controls at the country's borders.
"We have turned the migration wave into a migration turnaround," Dobrindt, of the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), told parliament during a budget debate on Thursday.
He said first-time asylum applications were down by around 75% compared with 2024.
"That is the result of control, direction and a clear stance," Dobrindt said.
Dobrindt said Germany was no longer Europe's number one destination for irregular migration.
According to European Union asylum data released on Thursday, Germany recorded approximately 55,000 applications in the first half of 2026, making it the country with the fourth-highest number of applications.
According to Dobrindt, 60,000 attempted irregular entries had been prevented at Germany's borders since the current parliamentary term began, while 1,700 suspected people smugglers had been arrested.
He said border controls would remain in place beyond September 15.
Dobrindt said the government was pursuing the same approach at European level.
He pointed to reforms of the EU's Common European Asylum System and said Germany wanted to step up returns of people whose asylum applications had been rejected.
According to Dobrindt, 42,000 people without grounds to remain had been returned from Germany to their countries of origin.
He said the next goal was to reach agreements with third countries on so-called return hubs — centers outside the EU where rejected asylum seekers could be sent.
Police this week arrested a 48-year-old man suspected of trying to sabotage power lines near coal-fired power stations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony.
Investigators believe he used homemade rockets to fire conductive material across high-voltage lines, causing short circuits in some cases. Several units at a power station near Bergheim, west of Cologne, were reportedly taken out of operation for several days, while two short circuits were caused at a substation near the Jänschwalde power station in Brandenburg.
Authorities have linked letters claiming responsibility for the attacks to the suspect. The letters reportedly justified the sabotage as part of a campaign against electricity generation from fossil fuels.
The case has intensified concerns about the vulnerability of Germany's critical infrastructure. This includes sectors such as energy, information technology and transport whose disruption could lead to supply shortages, public-safety problems or other serious consequences.
Inflation in Germany rose to 2.9% in August, driven largely by sharply higher energy prices, the Federal Statistical Office confirmed on Thursday.
The annual rate was the highest since late 2023, up from 2.8% in July and 2.3% in June.
Energy prices rose 10.5% compared with August last year, accelerating from an 8.3% increase in July.
Motor fuels cost 27.7% more than a year earlier, while heating oil prices jumped 49.6%.
"Particularly noticeable was the rise in energy prices, especially for fuels, which was mainly caused by the Iran war," said Federal Statistical Office President Ruth Brand.
Other household energy costs fell, however. Electricity prices were down 5.5%, natural gas including operating costs fell 2.9% and district heating was 1.0% cheaper.
Food prices were only 0.1% higher overall than a year earlier, after a 0.4% rise in July.
Some products became significantly more expensive, including eggs, up 15.2%, fresh vegetables, up 5.2%, and fish and seafood, up 4.4%.
Butter was 29.9% cheaper, while fresh fruit fell 5.6% and dairy products 5.5%.
Inflation across the eurozone also remains above the European Central Bank's 2% target.
The ECB could raise its key interest rate on Thursday for the second time this year, from 2.25% to 2.50%. It increased rates in June for the first time in almost three years before leaving them unchanged in July.
You join us as the head of German energy giant RWE calls for tougher protection of critical infrastructure after suspected sabotage attacks on the power grid.
RWE Chief executive Markus Krebber said Germany needs to learn lessons quickly.
Meanwhile, inflation in Germany has risen again, pushed higher mainly by energy costs.
