Review calls for Europe-wide intelligence agency to prevent hybrid attacks
November 4, 2024 4 Comments
A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED REVIEW of the European Union’s intelligence readiness to face conventional and hybrid threats has called for the establishment of a dedicated Europe-wide intelligence agency. Such an agency must rely on EU member states “trust[ing] each other” in order to confront increasingly aggressive espionage, sabotage, and other types of threats by outside actors like Russia, the report said.
Ursula von der Leyen, who presides over the EU’s powerful executive branch, known as the European Commission, assigned the review last March. It was led by Sauli Niinistö, former president of Finland, who was tasked with providing a set with proposals aimed to enhance the resilience of the EU in the face of current threats in the tactical and strategic domains. The final report, available here in PDF, was made publicly available in Brussels on Wednesday.
Among several recommendations, the report proposes the establishment of a “fully fledged intelligence cooperation service at the EU level”, which could serve the EU’s urgent “strategic and operational needs”. Such needs include countering espionage threats within EU institutions, as well as devising Europe-wide networks of defense against sabotage targeting EU critical infrastructure. Part of the new agency’s mission should be to prevent foreign intelligence services from operating “anywhere in the EU”, the report said.
In her public statement upon receiving the report, President von der Leyen stated that the EU should begin to think pre-emptively, rather than reactively, about conventional and unconventional threats to its security. Such a process should begin through “improving the flow of information gathering and intelligence gathering”, initially through existing EU-wide security bodies, such as the European Union Intelligence and Situation Centre (EU-IntCEN) and the European Centre for Information Policy and Security (ECIPS).
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 04 November 2024 | Permalink
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European Union exploring spy satellites to replace its reliance on US network
March 17, 2025 by Joseph Fitsanakis 4 Comments
Speaking to The Financial Times, Kubilius confirmed that the European Union is considering the construction of a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite system. Such a system would complement the European Union’s existing Copernicus Earth observation program, which is managed by the European Commission in partnership with the individual European Union member states. The costs and benefits of Copernicus are shared by member states and by several agencies, including the European Space Agency, the European Environment Agency, and the European Maritime Safety Agency.
Unlike Copernicus, a new LEO satellite system would primarily satisfy military priorities and would generate imagery updates every 30 minutes, thus providing near-real-time intelligence on targets. In contrast, Copernicus satellites are able to generate new imagery every 24 hours. Moreover, a new LEO satellite system would integrate into IRIS², an internet network of multi-orbit satellites intended to provide on-demand location-tracking, security surveillance and secure communications links to European Union member states. IRIS² is scheduled to become operational in 2027.
In his comments to The Financial Times, Kubilius acknowledged that the idea for a new European Union LEO satellite system was sparked by “changes in the geopolitical situation” relating to the United States. Subsequently, the European Union is exploring ways to “reduce its reliance on United States military assets”, he said. The commissioner admitted that such a project would be costly—perhaps in excess of $540 billion—as well as time-consuming. But there was much desire to proceed, he said.
In the meantime, the European Union is considering “commercial alternatives” until an independent European Union-run satellite network becomes fully operational, according to the The Financial Times.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 17 March 2025 | Permalink
Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Andrius Kubilius, European Commission, European Space Agency, European Union, military intelligence, News, satellite reconnaissance