The European Commission (EC) has taken the first steps toward creating a supranational intelligence unit, according to a report in the Financial Times based on sources in Brussels. The proposed agency is designed as a centralised system for collecting and analysing data from the national intelligence services of the EU member-states, and would be headed by power-hungry Ursula von der Leyen. Former employees of national agencies, such as the French DGSE and the German BND, would be involved.

The main task of the unit will be to intensify data exchange among national agencies, replacing their loyalty to their respective nation states by loyalty to Europe, in the overall framework of the war drive against Russia. Because of diverging views between the US and the European Union (EU) on the Ukraine crisis, Europe is supposed to become able to operate without American support.

von der Leyen’s plan faces resistance from intelligence officials inside the existing agencies within the EU, such as the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Intelligence and Situation Centre of the European Union (EU INTCEN), who justifiably fear that their professional analytical work will be replaced by that of officials strictly carrying out the tasks set by the EC. The plan is also supposed to include the newly-created Centre for Democratic Resilience (CDR) “to counter disinformation from Russia, China and other ‘unfriendly’ countries”.

Another project under discussion is the launch by 2030 of the European IRIS of reconnaissance satellites working for the EU, as an alternative to the US Starlink.

Attempts are also underway in Germany to make the foreign intelligence service BND more efficient and operational, beyond mere analytic gathering of information. While there is great scepticism in a number of EU member-states about certain aspects of the supranational project for Brussels, the general vector of the BND reform points in the same direction.

Read: EU plans new intelligence ‘cell’ amid rising global threats

Under its new President Martin Jaeger, the German Ambassador to Kiev until September, the BND is to be authorised to carry out “operational work” following the model of the CIA and Mossad. (Would that include targeted assassinations and regime changes abroad?) At a public hearing in the Bundestag in mid-October, Jaeger warned of the perceived threat posed by Russia in particular, declaring: “We must confront our opponents wherever necessary… We will take higher risks in a targeted and consistent manner.”

The Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) Strategic Alert weekly newsletter (Volume 39, No. 47) published this article on November 20, 2025.

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Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das