European Commission warns staff to beware of spies

Brussels is teeming with spies, the European Commission alerted its staff in an internal memo. 

The message, directed at Commission officials, emphasised that the threat of espionage is “real” and that intelligence agents are actively seeking to steal the EU executive’s confidential information, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

“Brussels is one of the world’s biggest spy hubs, with hundreds of active intelligence officers targeting our institution,” the memo stated.  The warning noted that anyone can be a target, regardless of their rank, with common "covers" including “diplomats, journalists, lobbyists, scientists, or PhD students.” 

Belgian security sources estimate that between 10 and 20 per cent of diplomats in some embassies are actually intelligence agents, while as many as one in five Chinese journalists working in Brussels may be spies. 

In 2019, the EU's diplomatic service had already raised alarms about Russian and Chinese espionage, revealing that hundreds of spies from Moscow and Beijing were operating in the Belgian capital, often overhearing conversations at bars and restaurants near the Commission's headquarters.

A comprehensive review of the EU's preparedness for war and crises last month proposed that the bloc create its own intelligence agency to assist member states in defending against threats, saboteurs, and foreign operatives. 

This recommendation comes in response to increasing warnings from Western intelligence agencies and spy chiefs across the bloc, highlighting that the risk of Russian espionage has intensified since the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

By Naila Huseynova