INTCEN has no operational espionage capabilities of its own; instead, it analyzes intelligence shared voluntarily by EU countries and passes its assessments to senior officials in the EEAS, the Commission and the European Council. The renewed attention lends fresh weight to a unit often dismissed as toothless — and comes as officials in Brussels and national capitals have floated the question of whether the EU needs its own spy agency.
The EU’s new European Security Strategy, which is being drafted by the Commission and the EEAS, should be published this summer. It is expected to use an expansive definition of security that goes beyond defense to include economic security, supply chains, preparedness and partnerships with countries outside the EU, a fourth person briefed on the strategy told POLITICO.
The document, which has been advertised as a “grand strategy,” is expected to be short and to include a geopolitical threat assessment, a status report on European security, and a roadmap for future action, the person said.
The roadmap will propose up to 10 major ideas for change, including an expansion of INTCEN, one of the three officials told POLITICO. Since the proposal would not change the body’s legal mandate, give it collection powers or require new budget lines, one official said, it could likely be treated as an administrative matter within the EEAS.
In a statement to POLITICO, EEAS spokesperson Anita Hipper denied that any changes were planned. She said INTCEN’s staffing levels, office space and secure IT tools are managed by the EEAS, which operates under a consolidated budget rather than separate budgets for individual entities.
In public, European intelligence officials are eager to highlight instances of cooperation among EU spy agencies, but two senior intelligence officials from different EU countries, speaking to POLITICO on condition of anonymity, expressed skepticism about the utility of INTCEN, citing a culture among national intelligence agencies of keeping valuable information to themselves and lingering distrust even among friendly EU countries.