During a press conference at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution Thomas Haldenwang, and President of the Federal Criminal Police Office Holger Münch laid out their strategy for further strengthening the federal security authorities in the fight against right-wing extremism.

There are some 24,000 right-wing extremists in Germany, more than half of whom are willing to use violence

"We must, and will, increase our efforts to fight right-wing extremism and right-wing terrorism," the Federal Interior Minister told journalists in Berlin. At the same time, it was important not to lose sight of the fight against left-wing extremism and Islamic fundamentalism, he said. "We will keep all of the different areas on our radar, but with an increased focus on right-wing extremism," said Mr Seehofer.

He noted that there are currently some 24,000 right-wing extremists in Germany, of whom 12,700 would be prepared to use violence. Every second politically motivated act of violence could be attributed to right-wing extremists, continued the minister.

"Which is why we intend to reinforce the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution by providing extra staff and strengthening existing structures," he said. "The two authorities will each receive an additional 300 staff to carry out these tasks."

Package of measures against right-wing extremism passed by the federal and state interior ministers

The Federal Minister of the Interior explained that the federal and state interior ministers were actively working to implement their decisions following the horrific attack in Halle. The obligation on providers to report unlawful online content to the Federal Criminal Police Office and the act amending German weapons law were examples of the commitment on the part of both the Federal Government and the federal and state interior ministers to take decisive action against right-wing extremism, right-wing terrorism and antisemitism, declared Mr Seehofer.

In this vein, the Federal Criminal Police Office was setting up a national central office to fight hate crime on the Internet, he said, adding: "We have a zero-tolerance policy for online crime."

A new division was to be set up at the Office for the Protection of the Constitution to detect and investigate potential right-wing extremism in the federal authorities, the minister said. He noted that it was not a question of general suspicion, but added that “every incident is one too many.”