German authorities have extended for another four years the anti-terrorism laws introduced in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, DW-WORLD reports . The decision was preceded by fierce debate between members of the government coalition: conservatives from the CDU/CSU and liberals from the FDP.

During the discussion, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich (CSU) demanded that the entire package of laws be extended indefinitely. For her part, Justice Minister Sabine Leuthäuser-Schnarrenberger (FDP) argued that anti-terrorism measures, on the contrary, should be weakened, as they infringe on civil liberties.

On Wednesday, June 29, the parties managed to reach a compromise. Some anti-terrorism measures have been weakened, while others, on the contrary, have been strengthened. In particular, law enforcement agencies were able to seek information about the flights of suspected passengers not from the airline, but from the central ticket reservation service.

In the same way, intelligence services will be able to obtain information about the bank accounts of citizens who have come under suspicion not in a specific bank, but in a single center for maintaining client accounts. Telecommunications companies and Internet service providers must continue to provide law enforcement with access to their customers' contact information.

There were media reports that the liberals made concessions to the conservatives on the issue of anti-terrorism measures in exchange for promises to lower a number of taxes, but these assumptions were refuted by representatives of the FDP. Meanwhile, it became known that the liberals have achieved the creation of an independent parliamentary commission, which will once again check the feasibility of applying certain anti-terrorism laws.

Germany extends anti-terrorism laws