Russian and Chinese spies disguised as diplomats, journalists and even students operate in Brussels to sabotage the European Union. The Commission asks its employees to be cautious in an internal note.
“Brussels is one of the largest espionage centers in the world.” The warning was left by the European Commission, in an internal note, sent to all employees this Thursday. The goal is to protect European organizations against the “real” danger of espionage, Politico says.
The Belgian security services estimate that Between 10 and 20% of all international delegations in Brussels are secret service agents. This figure increases when it comes to Chinese professionals: one in five Chinese journalists working in the city will, in fact, be spies working for Beijing.
“Diplomats and journalists”, but also “lobbyists, scientists and doctoral students”. These are the “most common costumes”which the European Commission highlights in the emails it sent to employees. They ask that care be taken with the secrets of the European executive, since “hundreds of active information agents target our institution.”
The alerts extend from the hallways of official buildings to the bars and restaurants where the European community in Brussels meets during their free time. But this is not the first warning.. The EU’s diplomatic services had already warned against Russian and Chinese spies operating from the political center of Europe in 2019. This threat, coming mainly from the Kremlin, has only grown in the last almost three years, since Moscow invaded Ukraine.
To respond to the “real danger” of espionage, Ursula von der Leyen was already recommended to create your own secret service agencyat the end of last month. The recommendation was made by a report that assessed the European community’s preparedness for wars and crises. The objective is to create a preventive defense against threats, sabotage processes and foreign agents operating throughout the continent.
Source: Observadora
