(C) GERMANY OPEN TO NGA WAIVER REQUEST FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 000226 SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/MDSP DICK BUENNEKE STATE FOR EUR/CE PETER SCHROEDER E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2034 TAGS: ETTC PGOV PINR MCAP PREL TSPA UK CA GM SUBJECT: (C) GERMANY OPEN TO NGA WAIVER REQUEST FOR SATELLITE IMAGERY EXPORTS Classified By: Global Affairs Unit Chief Don L. Brown for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Economics Ministry (BMWi) officials are optimistic that Germany will approve a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) request to waive a provision of their Satellite Data Security Law (Satellitendatensicherheitsgesetz) for the USG. This NGA request asked for a special provision waiving a requirement for a "sensitivity review" prior to the export of any high-resolution commercial satellite imagery with delivery requirements of less than five days. The BMWi officials said that, although they are notionally supportive of the NGA request, it would also require the consent of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA),Defense (MOD),Secret Services (BND),and Interior (BMI) for final approval. The BMWI officials were noncommittal about a timeline for a coordinated ministerial decision, but were optimistic that it "should not take too long", given the already strong security relationship Germany has with the USG. End Summary. ¶2. (C) On February 12, NGAOff and EconOff delivered a letter from NGA, formally requesting that Germany waive their Satellitendatensicherheitsgesetz 5-day sensitivity review requirement, to Mr. Juergen Meyer, BMWi Department Head Division VII Technology, and Mr. Wolfgang Schneider, Desk Officer in Division VII B 3 Space Technologies. Meyer volunteered that, given Germany's strong security relationship with the USG and the associated German business interests, he did not see difficulty getting this request approved as long as "black listed regions" remained subject to the sensitivity review. (COMMENT: The term "black listed regions" refers to areas of geographic coverage on which Germany places firm imagery export restrictions due to political and security sensitivities. END COMMENT) Meyer specifically mentioned Canada and the UK as "trusted" nations that Germany would put in the same category as the United States in matters of satellite imagery exports. Schneider confided (after Meyer left the room) that he sees a "clear procedure" in which the German government could approve the NGA's request to expedite the delivery of imagery, promising to keep us updated as it progressed. ¶3. (SBU) PolOff delivered the same letter concurrently to the MFA with no notable response and NGA plans to deliver a copy of the same to appropriate MOD officials. Please find the content of the letter in paragraph 4 below. ¶4. (SBU) Begin original text of NGA letter to BMWi: BMWi, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology Directorate-General VII "Technology Policy" Dear Mr. Reichle, The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) aims to provide timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence. Recently, NGA completed an extensive evaluation of InfoTerra GMBH's TerraSar-X satellite data. The results of the data evaluation were excellent, proving that TerraSar-X data is a highly accurate source of relevant synthetic aperture radar imagery. However, for NGA to utilize this commercial data to meet operational needs, we must also be able to receive it in a timely manner. Germany's new National Data Security Policy for Space-Based Earth Remote Sensing Systems (Satellitendatensicherheitsgesetz) requires a sensitivity review for high resolution commercial data with delivery requirements of fewer than five days. In some cases, this required sensitivity review may prevent NGA from acquiring TerraSar-X data as quickly as needed. NGA requests to have full access to Germany's commercial remote sensing data, as given by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology to the Federal Ministry of Defense. NGA has enjoyed a longstanding geospatial information-sharing relationship with German agencies for many years. I believe this level of access to Germany's commercial remote sensing data will further strengthen our use of geospatial information from Germany. BERLIN 00000226 002 OF 002 We appreciate your support of this request. The point of contact for other questions you may have is Ms. Dawn Eilenberger, Director, Office of International Affairs and Policy, 301-227-7169. Sincerely, LLOYD B. ROWLAND Deputy Director End of text of NGA letter to BMWi. Koenig