German interior minister proposes domestic security shakeup

Candles and flowers to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack on 19 December 2016 have been placed at the Christmas market near the Memorial Church in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016. ( Jens Kalaene/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

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Candles and flowers to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack on Dec. 19, 2016 have been placed at the Christmas market near the Memorial Church in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016. (Jens Kalaene/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this May 23, 2016 file photo German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere speaks during a news conference, in Berlin, Germany. Germany's interior minister is proposing a security shake-up that could include creating "federal departure centers" to ease the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers and centralizing the country's domestic intelligence agency. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file) (The Associated Press)

BERLIN – Germany's interior minister is suggesting the creation of "federal departure centers" to ease the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers and wants to centralize the country's domestic intelligence agency.

They are part of a package of proposals following last month's attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

The government has promised to examine whether laws need to be changed following the Dec. 19 attack that killed 12 people, in which a failed Tunisian asylum-seeker is the prime suspect. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere set out his proposals in a guest article Tuesday in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

They centered on giving the federal government more authority on domestic security issues. De Maiziere called for better cooperation with state governments on deportations, suggesting federally run "departure centers" close to airports.