EU Warns Diplomats Of "No-Go" Zones In Brussels, Cites Influx Of Russian And Chinese Spies
9
February, 2019
EU officials
have issued a bizarre warning to government, military and
diplomatic staff working in Brussels, alleging that the
European Union's unofficial capital has become a
major hub of Russian and Chinese espionage and spying.
The
EU authorities have reportedly advised European diplomats and
other personnel to avoid specific areas of the city, especially night
life entertainment venues, near EU institutions which have seen
an uptick in foreign snooping and surveillance.
European
Parliament's main building in Brussels, via EPA
EU
diplomats told German
paper Welt
am Sonntag they
received a formal alert from the European External Action
Service (EEAS), warning them of the presence of “around
250 Chinese and 200 Russian spies,” according
to the report.
The
German report identifies Brussels' popular European
Quarter, where the majority of the key EU institutions are based, as
a key area being targeted by spies, specifically social hubs like
bars and restaurants frequented by EU employees.
The
"no-go" places included a popular steakhouse and cafe near
a building housing the European Commission headquarters,
for example.
The
WELT report notes further that EU military officials were issued the
same warning of a noticeable uptick in activity based out of the
Russian and Chinese embassies, but without citing specific evidence,
only a historic case from 2003 involving the European Council's
building being bugged by an unknown foreign power.
Brussels
neighborhood pub close to the European Parliament. via The Bulletin
But
in place of evidence for the claims, which seems more aimed at
ensuring EU officials take precautionary measures, the alert
referenced patterns
of prior decades:
According to the security service, in earlier times Russian agents were most frequently represented in the European capital. Concrete figures were not mentioned in this context. According to internal security services, the Chinese and Russian intelligence agents work in Brussels primarily at the embassies or commercial representations of their home countries, WELT went on to learn.
The
report called Russian, Chinese, and even American spying inside
Brussels "an open secret" which is run out of local
embassies involving "attachés
accompanying diplomats" at social events.
Concerning
Beijing's attempts to gather information, often related to pressing
geopolitical issues like the west's stance on Taiwan, the report said
- according to a rough translation: "China seems to be
increasingly expanding its spying activities in Europe."
"As
China's economic and political ambitions in Lithuania and other NATO
and EU countries increase, the
activities of Chinese intelligence and security services become
increasingly aggressive."
But
we doubt that declaring local pubs as "no-go"
spots for EU staff will actually do much to mitigate the types
of "random" social encounters that foreign intelligence
agencies capitalize on to gain information.
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