Federal Cyber Agency to Halle/Saale and Leipzig

Federal Interior Minister Seehofer, BMVg State Secretary Tauber and Minister Presidents Kretschmer and Haseloff sign Memorandum of Understanding

Following an interim phase, the Federal Cyber Agency should move into its permanent location at Leipzig-Halle Airport in Halle (Saale). The federal government and the states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt have agreed on this. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defence Peter Tauber, Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer of the Free State of Saxony and Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff of Saxony-Anhalt signed a Letter of Intent on the airport grounds.

The Cyber Agency is a component of the Federal Government for the protection of citizens in cyberspace. The task of the Cyberagentur will be to identify innovations and to assign concrete orders for the development of solution possibilities. The selection of the location in the Central German Region is part of the Federal Government's home strategy. Up to 100 new jobs will be created by 2022.

Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer points out: "The Cyber Agency specifically promotes ambitious cyber security technologies. The establishment of the agency in the Central German region is at the same time a living homeland policy. Equal living conditions throughout Germany - this is the first priority for the Federal Government. Because all people should have the same life chances, no matter where they live. We are therefore deliberately creating official jobs in regions that are affected by structural change".

Peter Tauber, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defense, emphasizes: "The Bundeswehr is positioning itself to ensure the security of all of us in the cyber space as well. The agency is looking into the future. The Federal Cyber Agency is a real gem. With the decision of the location for the cyber agency in the Leipzig/Halle region, we are now taking concrete steps that will bring us all forward".

The Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, says: "For the new federal states, for Saxony, for the entire region, the settlement is of enormous importance. Here in the Leipzig/Halle metropolitan region, something new is emerging with a strong magnetic effect. On the one hand, new jobs will be created here directly. The new federal institution may also lead to further settlements and start-ups. From our region, the centre will play an important role in cyber security for the whole of Germany. Today's signing is therefore a strong and appropriate signal of a new beginning".

"The state has the task of guaranteeing security and order in the country. This is in the interest of its citizens and, in the age of digitisation, is increasingly true of cyber security as well. The Agency for Cyber Security will provide an important contribution in the future from the Halle/Leipzig area. It provides impulses for research and innovation in the entire Central German region", said Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff.