Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, forcefully rejected Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to set up a dedicated cell to coordinate Brussels’ interactions with European intelligence agencies.
“Having been a prime minister of a country, I know that all the member states are struggling with the budget, and asking that we should do something in addition to the things that we have already is not a wise idea,” said the former Estonian leader in the European Parliament on Monday.
Last week, the Commission’s communications wing, led by von der Leyen, announced it was sketching plans to create a “cell” to “complement existing structures,” gather information from national spy agencies, and prepare meetings of the 27 commissioners focused on security.
The announcement, first reported by the Financial Times, was immediately seen as an example of the Commission president centralising control in Brussels and eating into the limited mandate of Kallas, who heads the European External Action Service (EEAS), a unique dual role in which she works for both governments and the Commission.
Kallas oversees the Intelligence and Situation Centre, known as INTCEN, and argued that it is already doing a good job, working both for governments, which have the whip hand on intelligence work in the EU, and the Commission.
The top diplomat argued that creating a “cell” in the Commission’s secretariat-general could create double work for the intelligence services and undermine existing work by INTCEN.
Framing her rejection as a question of resources and efficiency, Kallas said that Europe’s most senior spies had unanimously asked her not to create any extra contact points for them in Brussels when she met them last spring.
“In terms of costs, please, let’s keep in mind that we don’t duplicate the things that we already do; let’s make them work better if necessary.”
She was responding to questions from Spanish Socialist MEP José Cepeda, who called for a CIA-style EU intelligence agency, and French far-right MEP Virginie Joron, who said that von der Leyen’s plan was akin to creating a “Stasi” for Europe.
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Nicoletta Ionta contributed reporting.
