Hanning says Germany's "security architecture needs to be urgently improved in order to meet new challenges" | Michael Kappeler/EPA German ex-intelligence chief warns of ‘uncomfortable’ security situation August Hanning says Germany will have problems ‘as long as we let people come into the country without identity papers.’

BERLIN — Germany’s security situation could become “uncomfortable” if border controls are not strengthened, a former intelligence chief said.

“As the terrorist attacks and attempted attacks in the last two years have shown, the security situation in Germany is very tense,” August Hanning, who ran Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005, told Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

“Our security architecture needs to be urgently improved in order to meet new challenges,” he continued. “Otherwise it threatens to become very uncomfortable for us in Germany.”

Hanning, who has long been critical of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policies, said there’s an undeniable “link between internal security and efficient border control.” He called for increased staff and improved intelligence capabilities within Germany’s security agencies.

Hanning said the country has clearly learned from the case of Anis Amri, the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attacker who was already known to German authorities. Still, he argued it’s “negligent” for Germany to allow in so many refugees without adequate identity controls.

“I believe everyone involved learned from that case, and things have improved a great deal,” he said. “But as long as we let people come into the country without identity papers, without clear identity controls, we will have a big security problem.”

The ex-intelligence chief also stressed the importance of integration for new arrivals, saying there are still “big deficits” in Germany’s ability to integrate refugees and asylum-seekers who hope to stay long-term.

“Within Europe, Germany is the promised land for asylum-seekers and migrants,” he said. “And I ask myself how long we can continue this without big social disruptions.”