The European Commission is making plans to establish his own intelligence coordination cellreflecting the growing interest of Brussels for strategic autonomy in an era marked by guerrahe espionage and transatlantic uncertainty.
According to officials familiar with the initiative, the agency would operate under the direct supervision of the president. Ursula von der Leyen. Its objective: to better organize the information already flowing from national intelligence agencies and strengthen the capacity of the EU Executive to assess threats. Commission spokespersons confirmed that the idea is still in an “initial conceptual phase”, emphasizing coordination rather than duplication of efforts.
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The proposal comes amid a series of geopolitical upheavals: from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to renewed doubts about American security guarantees, following Donald Trump’s repeated threats to reduce his country’s support for Europe. These events have propelled the continent towards its largest rearmament campaign since the Cold War.
However, the plan has raised concerns in Brussels. Diplomats from the European External Action Service (EEAS), which oversees the EU Intelligence and Situation Center (INTCEN), fear the new unit could create redundancies. Intelligence sharing has always been a sensitive issue: powerful members such as France have been reluctant to share classified material, and Hungary’s increasingly pro-Russian stance has deepened mistrust.
The moment chosen for this measure is not coincidental. Just a few weeks before, The Commission faced revelations about a Hungarian spy network that allegedly tried to recruit EU officials in Brussels between 2012 and 2018. European lawmakers demanded to know whether the Commission ignored previous warnings, while some called for the resignation of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, who was Hungary’s ambassador to the bloc at the time.
For its defenders, the intelligence cell could finally provide the Commission president with a more complete view of the threats. However, critics warn of increasing centralization and the blurring of national powers.
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Neither the launch date nor the structure have yet been specified, but if it materializes, the cell would represent a milestone: the Commission’s first attempt to design its own intelligence architecture in a bloc that is still debating who should guard Europe’s secrets.