No need to 'break' with US over security policy, German spy chief says

By Sarah Marsh

BERLIN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - There is no need for a rupture between Europe and the U.S. over Washington's new Security Strategy warning of "civilizational erasure" in the Old World, Germany's spy chief said on Monday. 

In the new document, unveiled late last week, the Trump administration upends postwar assumptions about Europe's close relationship with the United States and takes European countries to task for continuing to rely heavily on the U.S. for their defence. Reuters reported on Friday that Washington wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO's conventional defence capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027.

"I would not draw from such a strategy the conclusion that we should break with America," Sinan Selen said at an event in Berlin, "and I also do not believe that our partners will break with us."

"But one important point is that we naturally have to continually review our alliances and further develop them, and that applies in particular to European networking.” 

Europe needs to become more independent overall, including in its security architecture, Selen said, alluding to concern over reliance on U.S. technology.

Europe "must be able to generate alternatives" for example to the crime-fighting software of CIA-backed Palantir Technologies so it could then select the best solution, taking into account geostrategic considerations.

"We have industries and companies that can do these things. Perhaps they simply need more support," he said.

German security services also need expanded digital surveillance powers to better unmask people hiding behind fake profiles, map their online networks, and analyse their communications, before anything happens, said Selen.

The government is already working on this, he said.

"Other partners — I look specifically at France and the Netherlands — are far ahead of us in this regard," said Selen. 

Germany has traditionally maintained some of the strictest data-privacy protections in Europe, shaped by its history of two dictatorships in the 20th century.

(Reporting by Sarah MarshEditing by Gareth Jones )