(Antoaneta Roussi and Jacopo Barigazzi – Politico) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is softening a push to take greater control of EU intelligence sharing after a standoff with her foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, four officials with knowledge of the discussion told POLITICO. The EU executive said in November it wanted to set up an internal cell to collect intelligence from across Europe, overseen by the president herself, as part of an effort to protect the bloc from Russian digital attacks and sabotage. But the plan triggered a backlash from European capitals and the EU’s diplomatic service, which has its own center for Europe-wide intel sharing. The Commission is now scaling back its ambitions for the intelligence cell, according to the officials, who include two EU officials and two EU diplomats. The cell will likely become a security unit and will leave much of the intelligence sharing to the INTCEN center of the European External Action Service (EEAS), two of the officials said.
Von der Leyen softens plan for intelligence cell
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