Kallas, von der Leyen and the rivalry over EU intelligence

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.4 • 204 Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Brussels is beefing up its intelligence machinery. Zoya Sheftalovich and Kathryn Carlson talk about the growing role of INTCEN — the EU’s little-known intelligence-analysis hub inside the European External Action Service — and the quiet power struggle brewing between Kaja Kallas’ diplomatic service and Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission over who gets to handle sensitive security information in Brussels. Then: the Greens in the European Parliament are facing an identity crisis, as one of their biggest national parties considers defecting to the Socialists and Democrats — and why Bas Eickhout’s dramatic departure matters far beyond one relationship scandal. And finally: European commissioners are discovering that driving electric vehicles to Strasbourg can involve awkward charging stops somewhere near Luxembourg. If you have thoughts, tips or strong opinions on how to survive the Brussels–Strasbourg trip in an EV without stopping for 20 minutes in the middle of nowhere, send us a message — or even better, a voice note on WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:21.8	dot UK slash podcast to learn more. Good morning. It's Wednesday, May 27, and this is the Brussels
0:28.4	Playbook podcast. The vibe in Brussels today is classified as the EU tries to beef up its intelligence capabilities.
0:44.2	Also on the pod, the Greens in the European Parliament are having a bit of an identity crisis.
0:49.8	And some European commissioners are frustrated that their EVs don't make it all the way to Strasbourg from Brussels without having to stop for 20 minutes to charge. I'm Zora Schaeftolovich and with me today is senior finance reporter Catherine Carson. Hey Katie, have you been watching Roland Garros? Hello, Zoya. I am hyped rather for Wimbledon because I just found out I got tickets. I'm very excited for. I'm so jealous. Which round?
1:13.0	I do not know. It was my friend that got them.
1:16.1	Can I be friends with your friend? Because I have failed miserably.
1:19.8	Shout to Vesla.
1:22.6	All right, folks, from tennis to security.
1:26.0	Brussels wants to get a bit better at intelligence, Katie.
1:29.7	And our colleague Tony Russey has a story out this morning,
1:32.7	looking at this body inside the EU's Diplomatic Service, the EAS.
1:37.1	It's a unit called InS, and it's the Intelligence and Situation Centre.
1:42.0	Yeah, so it's basically Brussels's little intelligence analysis
1:45.6	hub. It's got about 80 people there and now the EAS wants to expand it. And that's because of the
1:51.4	threats that EU is facing, all of the attacks, hybrid attacks coming from Russia, sabotage scares,
1:57.3	election interference, et cetera. So there's a bit of a move to increase intelligence capacity
2:01.9	in the EAS. Exactly. But we also shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. This is about the furthest thing
	...

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