In a report published on Wednesday, the 30th of October, former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö called on the European Union (EU) to create its own intelligence agency to improve the bloc’s defence against threats, sabotage and foreign agents by increasing intelligence sharing across Europe amid ongoing concerns about Russian influence and agents across the bloc, reports Politico.
In March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tasked Niinistö, who served as Finland’s president for more than a decade, to deliver a detailed report on the bloc’s war preparedness and civil protection, as well as proposals for improvements.
In his plan, Niinistö calls for the EU to establish “a fully-fledged intelligence cooperation service at EU level that can serve both strategic and operational needs”, while adding that a “counter-intelligence network” is needed to protect infrastructure.
More work is needed to “step up the fight against espionage in the EU institutions”, he said after presenting the plan with von der Leyen.
Amid growing concerns about espionage, with diplomats expelled and Brussels becoming a hotspot for agent activity with hundreds of institutions and embassies in the city, Russia’s war in Ukraine has increased EU security risks, including drone surveillance of military sites, assassination plots and attacks on underwater infrastructure.
Western allies already share intelligence – the Five Eyes network brings together agencies from the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK – and such an EU agency should focus on making the most of the information that already exists, said Niinistö.
“We need to trust each other,” he added.
The EU is unlikely to carry out high-risk international intelligence operations any time soon, as member states point to concerns about information leaks within the EU executive.
“Intelligence gathering is primarily the responsibility of the member states,” said von der Leyen, stressing the need to improve “information flow, information gathering and intelligence gathering”.
There are many other areas where the bloc should strengthen its conflict preparedness, Niinistö said, also proposing an EU Preparedness Law that would set out “principles, standards and objectives” according to which countries should cooperate. For example, the EU lacks a million cyber-security experts, he said, and while he does not advocate conscription, he advocated the introduction of programmes in key cities to involve civilians in national defence.
Security agencies should also “make it as difficult as possible for hostile foreign intelligence services to operate anywhere in the EU”, he said.
Niinistö’s conclusions will be taken into account in von der Leyen’s second term as the EU will have its first defence commissioner, who will be tasked with drafting a defence white paper by spring.
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Publish date : 2024-10-31 03:58:00
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