Brussels justifies this initiative by “complicated geopolitical and geoeconomic panorama” that the EU is suffering, with the “hybrid war” launched by Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, pressure from China and Donald Trump’s announcement of a progressive withdrawal of US troops from Europe.
However, Von der Leyen’s plan has already caused suspicion and opposition in the European External Action Service, where the EU Intelligence Analysis Centerthe EU’s civilian intelligence unit.
Diplomats fear an overlap of functions, as reported by the FT, the first medium that advanced the president’s plans.
The Community Executive replies that the new cell will be small and that its function will be limited to complementing and coordinating the information services already existing in the EU.
“We are in a complicated geopolitical and geoeconomic panorama, and the Commission, therefore, is examining how to strengthen its security and intelligence capabilities“said its spokesman, Balazs Ujvari.
“As part of this approach, the creation of a specific cell within the general secretariat of the Commission is being considered,” says the spokesperson.
“It will be a complementary initiative, so it will complement the work of the Commission Security Directorate and will also cooperate closely with the corresponding services of the European External Action Service,” says Ujvari.
The Community Executive assures that the development of this new intelligence cell under the command of Von der Leyen is still in an incipient phase of development.
“The idea is that it will be a small unit and that its purpose is really to complement the work of existing structures, especially within the Foreign Service,” says Von der Leyen’s spokesperson, Paula Pinho, who has estimated her staff at “dozens of people.”
The new unit comes after von der Leyen decided to create a “security college” for her commissioners to receive specific information on security and intelligence matters.
Brussels has not clarified whether it has already consulted its plans with the capitals, which have traditionally resisted ceding competence to the EU in matters of espionage and intelligence services.
The appearance of openly pro-Russian governments such as that of Viktor Orbán in Hungary has only increased misgivings about sharing information between European partners.