Brussels is crawling with spies, European Commission warns its staff

European Commission officials received an email telling them the threat of espionage is “real” from spooks wanting to steal the EU executive’s secrets, reports Politico.eu, which is familiar with the respective internal memo.

“Brussels is one of the world’s biggest spy hubs, with hundreds of active intelligence officers who target our institution,” the warning reads.

Anyone can be a target, no matter how junior, the email adds.

Belgian security officials estimate that, in some embassies, between 10 and 20 percent of the diplomats are intelligence officers, while as many as one in five of the Chinese journalists working in Brussels are suspected to be intelligence officers.

The EU’s diplomatic service cautioned its staff about the threat of Russian and Chinese espionage back in 2019, warning there were hundreds of spies from Beijing and Moscow slinking around the Belgian capital and eavesdropping on conversations at bars and restaurants near the Commission’s headquarters.