The European Commission has confirmed that it is continuing to study the creation of a small internal “intelligence cell” aimed at strengthening its capacity for strategic analysis.
The initiative has generated huge controversy since its initial announcement in November 2025, both among member states and political parties critical of the growing centralisation of power in Brussels.
The proposal was promoted by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a context marked by the deterioration of the European geopolitical environment. Hybrid threats, cyberattacks, sabotage of critical infrastructure, and foreign influence campaigns have led several European institutions to call for better analytical and coordination capabilities.
While these threats exist, this rationale mirrors the justification the Commission has previously used to advance its agenda. Every crisis becomes a new excuse for the centralization of powers in Brussels.
According to the initial outline revealed by the Financial Times, the new unit would be integrated into the Commission’s Secretariat-General and would work directly under the supervision of the Commission president.
Its function would be to collect and analyze information coming from national intelligence services as well as from open sources, with the aim of providing strategic assessments for decision-making.
The Commission has insisted that the project does not aim to create a “European secret service” comparable to national agencies such as the CIA or MI6, but rather a small analytical structure designed to help coordinate information in an increasingly complex international environment.
Even so, the initiative has raised suspicions both inside and outside European institutions.
One of the strongest reactions has come from Germany. Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) publicly denounced Brussels’ plans, arguing that the creation of an intelligence cell under the control of the Commission would violate the division of competences established in the treaties.
“The EU Commission confirms plans for its own intelligence cell. In doing so, Brussels is clearly breaking applicable law, as national security is solely a matter for the member states. We say no to centralised surveillance from Brussels,” the party said on social media.
Criticism has not come only from Eurocritical parties. The proposal has also created tensions within the European Union’s own institutional architecture.
The EU already has a civilian intelligence centre: EU INTCEN (European Union Intelligence and Situation Centre), integrated into the European External Action Service and supervised by the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas.
INTCEN functions as an analytical hub that gathers information voluntarily provided by member states and produces strategic assessments, early warnings, and risk analyses on external and hybrid threats. Its staff numbers around one hundred experts, and its work depends largely on the cooperation of national intelligence services.
The proposal to create a parallel unit within the Commission generated friction with the European External Action Service and with the current High Representative, who sees the project as an unnecessary duplication of existing structures.
European diplomats also interpreted the plan as an attempt to expand the direct influence of the Commission presidency in matters of security and intelligence, an area traditionally controlled by member states.
Faced with this resistance, the Commission significantly scaled back the ambition of the project in February. The initiative remains in a conceptual phase and, according to EU sources, is now orientated toward a much more limited analytical capacity complementary to existing structures.
