BRUSSELS. The spy crisis is facing Brusselswith an unknown number of intelligence-gathering agents from Russia, Iran and China, often spending time eavesdropping on conversations in bars and restaurants near his headquarters. commission.

Representatives of the Belgian counterintelligence claim that they do not know the real number spiessince, unlike the US or Australia, Belgian law does not require employees of foreign companies, organizations or institutions to declare their presence in the country, the report says magazine Politico. Brussels is headquartered EUROPE. and his NATO, as well as 100 other international organizations and 300 diplomatic missions with over 26,000 diplomatic staff. Each of them could be a spy. A diplomatic passport also offers access to high-ranking officials who are sometimes willing to share information, as well as immunity from criminal prosecution. The Belgian security services estimate that in some embassies between 10% and 20% of employees agents.

Working in the university community, like journalism, is also a good cover-up for intelligence gatherers.

Researchers and journalists at the Chinese Confucius Institute have been exposed in Belgium in recent years as spies for Beijing. A former EU diplomatic official, he explains: “The number of Chinese agents in Brussels is high. It is hard to believe.”

Although organizations such as the Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament and NATO have separate security forces, the Belgian authorities are responsible for finding and arresting foreign agents in Brussels. However, their work is hampered by the absence of a single European intelligence service or umbrella organization to coordinate the counterintelligence services of the 27 member states. Some call the EU set their own version CIAby her standards Europol.

“Coordination is impossible. These issues are too sensitive,” said a spokesman for Belgian intelligence Politico. The responsibility for counterintelligence thus falls to the Belgian State Security and their military counterparts in the military security and intelligence services.

The Belgian counterintelligence services are not working effectively, while the EU services do not want to create a single security agency.

Belgium has a long history of spy hunting. After the “relocation” of NATO headquarters from Paris to Brussels in the 1960s, Washington demanded that Belgium strengthen its intelligence services to counter the threat of Soviet espionage. Although the staff was significantly increased, Brussels was still considered a “spy ground”, especially after the end of the Cold War, when counterintelligence ceased to be a top priority, in contrast to the fight against terrorism.

The outbreak of a major European Council wiretapping scandal in 2003 highlighted the shortcomings of the country’s services. In 2016, the Belgian counterintelligence agency had half as many staff as its other European partner agencies.

Equipment and laws

The invasion of Crimea in 2014 changed the situation: the government of Brussels invested in equipment and legally armed the judiciary to prosecute spies. However, despite increased investment in intelligence services, Belgium will never be able to compete with major powers such as China and Russia. “Let’s be honest, despite the government’s claims, Brussels will not become an ‘inhospitable place’ for spies. Moscow is such a place, thanks to the successor to the KGB, the FSB,” says Kenneth Lasson, an expert on Belgian counterintelligence at the University of Antwerp.

While Belgian agencies seek out and deport spies from enemy countries, this does not apply to agents of allied states, even when they violate Belgian law. “It’s a matter of priority. I’d rather have my phone tracked by Americans or Germans than by Chinese or Russians,” says a Belgian security official. Belgian agencies prefer to work discreetly to the public, preferring to quietly declare a diplomat undesirable rather than bring him to justice.

Tremor for China

SPIEGEL

The text of the strategy, which makes it difficult for German companies to operate in China, was adopted by German Economy Minister Robert Hambeck. Habek’s proposal, leaked to Pioneer’s financial website, says that even medium-sized businesses operating in China will have to go through a series of bureaucratic hurdles. The goal is to bring German companies to alternative markets. Volker Trier, head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said economic players were “very angry” at the German government’s “polyphony” on China, “given the importance of China to our economy. .”. China also mentioned yesterday G.K. NATO, Jens Stoltenberg. “We do not see China as an adversary,” he said, adding that every member of the Alliance must find a balance between working with China and not becoming too vulnerable.