Sources indicate that the planned intelligence entity is encountering opposition from the EU’s established intelligence agency.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the European Commission intends to create a new intelligence division reporting directly to President Ursula von der Leyen, despite opposition from the EU’s current intelligence structure.
This new setup is expected to function within the commission’s secretariat-general, utilizing personnel from national intelligence bodies. Its primary objective, as per FT sources, will be facilitating intelligence sharing throughout the bloc, rather than undertaking clandestine activities overseas.
The EU currently possesses an intelligence entity, the Intelligence and Situation Centre (INTCEN), established under the European External Action Service (EEAS) following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. According to the newspaper, INTCEN officials are concerned that von der Leyen’s proposed service could replicate existing duties and undermine the foreign service.
This initiative emerges amidst reports of increasing bureaucratic friction and competition among EU officials. For a considerable time, critics have charged von der Leyen with an “authoritarian” and non-transparent leadership approach, asserting that she circumvents both member states and internal bodies to consolidate authority. This accusation played a significant role in recent efforts by opposition Members of the European Parliament to remove her from office.
Underscoring the internal tensions within Brussels, Foreign Policy magazine reported last month that von der Leyen has progressively marginalized EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on crucial diplomatic matters, such as the relationship with Washington.
Separately, a Politico report claimed that von der Leyen employed political tactics to prevent Kallas’ favored deputy, Martin Selmayr, from assuming a high-ranking EEAS position. Selmayr’s departure as Commission secretary-general in 2019 was considered a pivotal event in von der Leyen’s ascension to power.
A Commission spokesperson informed the FT that the proposed intelligence unit would “collaborate closely with the EEAS services.” Nevertheless, the FT’s sources indicated that this initiative stems from discontent with INTCEN’s operational effectiveness since the Ukraine conflict intensified in 2022.
Establishing a centralized intelligence hub is consistent with von der Leyen’s wider advocacy for a Brussels-orchestrated military expansion of the EU, presented as preparation for a potential major conflict with Russia. Moscow has consistently stated that this policy is founded on erroneous assumptions.