New head of Germany's federal intelligence service, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) Gerhard Schindler (R) his predecessor Ernst Uhrlau and and Chancellery Minister Ronald Pofalla (L) attend a hand-over of office ceremony in Berlin December 7, 2011. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY)

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New head of Germany's federal intelligence service, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) Gerhard Schindler (R) and his predecessor Ernst Uhrlau attend a hand-over of office ceremony in Berlin December 7, 2011. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY)

- Tags: POLITICS) 

The head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, Ernst Uhrlau (L), Minister for Special Tasks Ronald Pofalla (2nd L) and a worker in traditional dress applaud during the roofing ceremony of the agency's future headquarters in Berlin March 25, 2010. The poster in the background shows the shell of the building in its current state. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) 

The head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, Ernst Uhrlau attends the roofing ceremony of his agency's future headquarters in Berlin March 25, 2010. The poster in the background shows the shell of the building in its current state. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) 

The head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, Ernst Uhrlau speaks during the roofing ceremony of the agency's future headquarters in Berlin March 25, 2010. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) 

The head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, Ernst Uhrlau (L) and Minister for Special Tasks Ronald Pofalla (2nd L) listen to explanations of architect Jan Kleihues at a scale model of the agency's future headquarters in Berlin March 25, 2010. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) 

The head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, Ernst Uhrlau poses for photographers in the shell of the agency's future headquarters in Berlin March 25, 2010. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) 

Joerg Zierke (R), President of the German Federal Police (BKA) and Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) have a chat at the beginning of the autumn meeting of the BKA in Wiesbaden November 25, 2009. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) is pictured during the autumn meeting of the German Federal Police (BKA) in Wiesbaden November 25, 2009. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) listens during an interview with Reuters in Berlin October 20, 2008. Picture taken October 20, 2008. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) is pictured during an interview with Reuters at the Berlin office October 20, 2008. Picture taken October 20, 2008. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) is pictured during an interview with Reuters in Berlin October 20, 2008. Picture taken October 20, 2008. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) poses before an interview with Reuters in Berlin, October 20, 2008. Picture taken October 20, 2008. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) poses before an interview with Reuters in Berlin, October 20, 2008. Picture taken October 20, 2008. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) attends the foundation stone laying ceremony, for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) attends the foundation stone laying ceremony, for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) attends the foundation stone laying ceremony, for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) attends the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau (L) head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) and Chancellery Affairs minister Thomas de Maizere attend the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), August Hannig and Chancellery Affairs minister Thomas de Maizere (L-R) attend the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) attends the foundation stone laying ceremony, for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Photographers take pictures of Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) as he attends the foundation stone laying ceremony, at the construction site for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) arrives for the foundation stone laying ceremony, at the construction site for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau (C) head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) bangs a hammer as Berlin's city development senator Ingeborg Junge-Reyer (L) state secretary Engelbert Luetke Daldrup (2nd R) and Chancellery Affairs minister Thomas de Maizere (R) watch during the foundation stone laying ceremony, at the construction site for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) Berlin's city development senator Ingeborg Junge-Reyer, Chancellery Affairs minister Thomas de Maizere, architect Jan Kleihues (L-R) watch as an unidentified official holds a copper tube containing files during the foundation stone laying ceremony, at the construction site for the new headquarters of the BND in Berlin May 7, 2008. The BND's new headquarters will feature a visitor centre and be surrounded by see-through fencing, striking a contrast with the high walls at its current home in the village of Pullach, near Munich. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) waits to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin March 8, 2007. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) arrives for a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin March 8, 2007. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) waits to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin March 8, 2007. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) waits to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin March 8, 2007. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) waits to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin March 8, 2007. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) waits to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin March 8, 2007. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY) 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L, front), Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, (R, front) and Ernst Uhrlau, head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Joerg Zierke, head of the Federal Criminal Police (BKA), and Heinz Fromm, head of domestic intelligence service (L-R, back) pose for a picture during a meeting in the joint anti-terrorism operations centre (GTAZ) in Berlin, January 8, 2007. REUTERS/Tim Brakemeier/Pool (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) awaits the start of the inquiry at a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin November 30, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) waits to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin November 30, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) arrives to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin November 30, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) arrives to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin November 30, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) waits to attend a parliamentary committee of investigation in Berlin November 30, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) arrives for the ground-breaking ceremony for the new BND headquarters in Berlin October 19, 2006. BND is planned to move from the Bavarian village of Pullach to the German capital in 2011 in its new building. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) shovels earth with a spade during the ground-breaking ceremony for the new BND headquarters in Berlin October 19, 2006. BND is planning to move from the Bavarian village of Pullach to the German capital in 2011 in its new building. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) looks at his watch before a conference of the interior ministers of the states, on security measures in Berlin September 4, 2006. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau (L) head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) listens to Joerg Ziercke, President of the German Federal Police BKA, before a conference of interior ministers of the states, on security measures in Berlin September 4, 2006. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY) 

Ernst Uhrlau (R), head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), and Chancellor Angela Merkel stand next to a miniature of the new BND headquartes during the company's 50th anniversary in Berlin May 11, 2006. BND is planned to move from the Bavarian village of Pullach to the German capital in 2011 in its new building designed by a Berlin architecture office. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz 

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) delivers a speech at the celebrations for the 50th years anniversary of BND in Berlin May 11, 2006. BND is planned to move from the Bavarian village of Pullach to the German capital in 2011 in it's new building designed by a Berlin architecture office. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz 

Ernst Uhrlau (R), head of Germany's intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), talks to Chancellor Angela Merkel during the company's 50th anniversary in Berlin May 11, 2006. BND is planned to move from the Bavarian village of Pullach to the German capital in 2011 in its new building designed by a Berlin architecture office. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz