Brexing & intel

Brexiting A Spy Nest


Last week, the citizens of the United Kingdom decided by majority vote to pull out of the European Union. One thing that voters probably didn't consider was that world governing bodies such as the EU are rampant with espionage.

Global governance institutions act as permanent installations in and around which intelligence officers can intermingle with their counterparts from other countries -- identifying, recruiting and cultivating sources and assets in order to discreetly collect information or influence policy, all while enjoying the diplomatic immunity that prevents them from suffering any serious consequences if they are caught.

This partly explains why the European Commission's diplomatic corps isn't limited to European countries and also includes accredited missions of the African Union, the General Delegation of Palestine, the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates), Hong Kong, the International Monetary Fund, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United Nations, the World Bank and others.

Basically, intelligence officers from around the world gather in Brussels under the guise of European solidarity, all while competing for potentially valuable information. The show that European citizens see on television, with members of European Parliament squawking at one another in a near-empty hall, represents only the noisy splashing on the surface of much deeper waters.