The European Union is busy working on setting up a new intelligence and security agency to rival the US National Security Agency (NSA) and fill the gaps exposed by the latest spying scandals triggered by the revelation of top secret US-UK surveillance programs.
The new European agency will have its own drones, surveillance satellites and air forces. The move is part of a larger plan to create an independent military command to be used by the EU for internal security and defense purposes, including internet monitoring, security intelligence, protection of external borders and maritime surveillance.
This project is believed to be directly linked to the recent scandal over American and British communications surveillance disclosed by Edward Snowden, former CIA technical worker.
The plan is said to be backed by several countries including France Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. The European Commission (EC) will submit the plan to the European Council for endorsement during its next meeting scheduled for December.
Some experts say the EU project will be supported by the spy satellite project known as Copernicus to be used for security & defense missions and operations.
According to several security and counter-intelligence specialists, the embarrassing high-tech surveillance programs unveiled by whistleblower Snowden show that Europe needs its own independent security and monitoring capabilities.
The leaked intelligence documents, published by worldwide media, showed the involvement of several European government bodies in monitoring the communication and internet activities of EU citizens, in connivance with the US spy agencies.
To tackle the so-called new threats and security challenges, the Europeans need to enhance international and cross-agency intelligence cooperation while preserving their own autonomy in assessing threats and carrying out decisive operations serving their own strategic interests.
