Spies among us

Protection of confidential information within EU bodies

Spies among us

It seems that out of three most important bodies in charge of political leadership of the European Union only the European Commission has noticed the threat of foreign intelligence agents, although Mr. Kidd says - "as we know the European Council has also sent similar note to its staff." In the interview for WAVE magazine the European Council has negated this statement - "The Council has not sent similar note to its employees. Complete staff should pass security training when entering the institution". As for the European Parliament, according to Marjory van den Broeke's, Head of Press Room Unit in Directorate General for Communication, statement it could be concluded that neither this body has been warning about the risks of espionage: "The European Parliament have no comment on those statements of Belgian authorities and the European Commission"


By MILENA STOŠIĆfrom Niš, SERBIA


In December 2008 the European Commission sent an internal note to its staff in which it warned them about possible security risks. However, that note was also read by many others to whom this note was not allocated, after the information had leaked out to the public thanks to German journalists of Frankfuter Allgemeine Zeitung. In the note the staff was warned about potential spies under the mask of various professions who had access to the European Union institutions in Brussels. "Recent events show that espionage threat is increasing day by day", says Dale Kidd, representative of the European Commission, for WAVE magazine.

The content of this note has been condemned by the journalists of EFJ (European Federation of Journalists) and API (International Press Association), because it also singles journalists out as potential spies. On the behalf of the European Commission Valerie Rampi, Spokesperson, has reported in her statement which will become a headline in many medias: "We are not only pointing the finger at journalists. It could also be a trainee with long-legs and blond hair." But it seems that the Director of the Belgian State Security Service Alain Winans has yet pointed his finger at the members of "the seventh force" - "it's dreadful how many Chinese and Russian (alleged) journalists operate in Brussels using journalism as a mask for their espionage.

Espionage Threat

Dale Kidd has confirmed for WAVE magazine that the European Commission has sent to their people the note in which it warns them of increased risk of espionage: "What would you expect of any large organization which handles confidential and very sensitive information?"

It is said in the note that "hostile intelligence services are making repeated attempts to access the information of the EC using intelligent agents or persons who operate under the mask and who are directly connected to those intelligence services." Trainees, a loyal member of the national administration and a technical expert for IT are stated as an example. "As you can see", Kidd stresses, "journalists are obviously not the only one in the focus. The European Union greatly respects the profession of journalism, media freedom and the protection of their sources."

Christian de Bruyne, Deputy Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Belgium, has also emphasized that there is no a general suspicion towards journalists. Nevertheless, he thinks that it does not have to surprise that the risk of espionage increases in proportion to the quantity of the information possessed by the Commission:

"There is no doubt that numerous countries, information brokers, lobbyists, journalists, private agencies and others continuously seek sensitive and confidential information, which they would misuse, resell or simply publish as a sensation", De Bruyne explains for WAVE magazine and adds: "I'm sure that I don't exaggerate when I say that the European Commission is undoubtedly one of 'the most open houses' in the world when it comes to access to the documents." However, as he has explained to us, the Commission is obliged not to reveal certain data by the EU regulation. Among the other items stated in the regulation it is also said that "principally all documents should be available to the public. Still, certain public and private interests should be protected without exception."

Cloud of suspicion over journalists

On the other hand, journalists think that exploring journalism is in the public interest. The EFJ represents over 260,000 journalists in 30 countries, while the API represents 500 accredited journalists to the European Union institutions. "Journalists must seek both 'sensitive and confidential information' with the aim to inform the public. A legitimate and essential part of democracy is to allow journalists to ask access to the documents which some politicians would rather remove out of public view", Lorenzo Consoli, the President of the API, has said concerning this event.

It seems that the story about a pretty long-legged trainee, as Commission's reply is not satisfactory for journalists, judging by the statement of EFJ Secretary General Aidana White: "The EU officials should do their job without threats and doubts about the honesty and integrity of the correspondents working in Brussels." He has also reminded us of the fact that the Commission has not yet taken responsibility and has not apologized for a false accusation directed to a German journalist that he was not doing his job properly in revealing the corruption in the EU, although he has been freed of suspicion. White assesses that the stories, such as the Commission's note, stain journalists' reputation and casts a cloud of suspicion over each one of them. He considers such suggestions to be the worst threatening form.

At a three-way crossroads

Obviously the European Commission considers that some data should be kept secret so that according to this decision the Commission takes appropriate measures, such as the aforementioned note. It may be that as a call to understand such a move De Bruyne says: "One day this principle could be applicable also to your personal data or sensitive data of the organization you are working for."

However, it seems that out of three most important bodies in charge of political leadership of the European Union only the European Commission has noticed the threat of foreign intelligence agents, although Mr. Kidd has told us - "as we know the European Council has also sent similar note to its staff." In the interview for WAVE magazine the European Council has negated this statement - "The Council has not sent similar note to its employees. Complete staff should pass security training when entering the institution". As for the European Parliament, according to Marjory van den Broeke's statement (Head of Press Room Unit in Directorate General for Communication) it could be concluded that neither this body has been warning about the risks of espionage: "Actually, as long as I have been following this case, it seems that the representative of the Belgian Intelligence Service has announced that there are spies among journalists in Brussels. I have also seen the stories in media that this has also been confirmed by the Commission. The European Parliament has no comment on those statements of Belgian authorities and the European Commission".

The comment of the Intel news Senior Editor (www.intelnews.org) and an intelligence expert Dr Joseph Fitsanakis states that "all this is typical when we are talking about the information related to the intelligence service. People simply do not want to talk about that - they feel embarrassed, unsure or both."

What kind of events have initiated the appearance of the Commission's note, what those sophisticated methods used by spies are and what sort of data is their target - Mr. Kidd could not explain to us: "It is evident that I cannot go into the details of those cases - because of security reasons." Thus, for now many questions remain without their answers, and a lot of space is left to our imagination (and/or paranoia), especially if we take into account a long-legged blond in the manner of James Bond.


(Published INTERNATIONAL YOUTH WEB MAGAZINE WAVE  www.wavemagazine.net: 10.03.2009.)