Under President Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission is establishing a new intelligence unit to improve coordination and use of information gathered by national agencies. The unit, to be set up within the Commission’s Secretariat-General, will recruit officials from across the European Union intelligence community to consolidate data for shared purposes, according to four sources briefed on the plan.
Russia’s war with Ukraine and President Donald Trump’s warnings about scaling back U.S. support have pushed the EU to reassess its security capacities as part of its biggest rearmament effort since the Cold War. According to a source,
Member states’ intelligence services know a lot, and so does the Commission…. We need a better way to bring this together.
The proposal has met resistance from senior EU diplomatic officials overseeing the bloc’s Intelligence and Situation Centre (Intcen), who fear duplication and a weakening of its role. The plan has not yet been formally presented to the 27 member states but would rely on staff seconded from national agencies.
A Commission spokesperson said that Brussels is “exploring how to strengthen its security and intelligence capacities,” including the possible creation of a dedicated unit. The concept is still under discussion, with no fixed timeline, and would “build on existing expertise” and work closely with the European External Action Service (EEAS).
