Brussels is crawling with spies, the European Commission warned its staff in an internal memo Thursday, according to POLITICO.
European Commission staff received an email saying the threat of espionage is “real” from spies who want to steal EU executive secrets. The warning reads:
Brussels is one of the world’s biggest spy hubs, with hundreds of active intelligence officers who target our institution.
Anyone, no matter how junior, can be a target, the letter said, and “common covers” include “diplomats, journalists, lobbyists, academics or PhD students.”
Belgian security services estimate that 10 to 20 per cent of diplomats in some embassies are intelligence officers, and one in five Chinese journalists working in Brussels is believed to be an intelligence officer.
The EU diplomatic service warned its staff about the threat of Russian and Chinese espionage back in 2019, reporting that hundreds of spies from Beijing and Moscow were allegedly snooping around the Belgian capital and eavesdropping on conversations in bars and restaurants near the Commission’s headquarters.
Last month, a sweeping review of the bloc’s preparedness for war and crises recommended the EU set up its own intelligence service to help countries counter threats, saboteurs and foreign agents.
