Events

WEBINARIO EUROPEAN UNION-LATIN AMERICA STRATEGIC RELATIONS

24 April 2024

Last 12/04/2024, the Intelligence College in Europe, together with the Centro Nacional

de Inteligencia (CNI) (Spain), organized a Webinar on the topic “European Union-Latin

America Strategic Relations” at the University of Alcalá, Madrid (Spain).

The moderator of the event was JORGE DE LA CABALLERIA, an experienced official at

the EU Commission, closely linked to the strategic relations with Latin America, in his

capacity as Head of the Latin American Unit of the Directorate-General for International

Partnerships B (DG-INTPA B) of the European Union.

The speakers were:

MARIO CIMOLI

He has ample experience and prestige in the region and has been Executive Secretary of

the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) until September

2022. He currently works as an academic in Italy and Mexico.

CLAUDIA GINTERSDORFER

She is Head of the Americas Regional Division in the European External Action Service,

responsible for coordinating relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. Next EU

Ambassador to Chile.

JUAN ALFREDO CERRUTI

He is Global Head of Economy and Vice President of Grupo Santander. He has extensive

experience in the region.

Professor Francisco Pascual Vives of the University of Alcalá (UAH), director of the

Institute of Latin American Studies, acted as host on behalf of the UAH, Spain.

The European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean represent more than one

third of the members of the United Nations and are a driving force in favour of a strong

rules-based multilateral system.

After eight years without summits, in 2023, the meeting of the Community of Latin

American and Caribbean States (CELAC) with the European Union was held in Brussels.

This meeting concluded with important agreements being reached in all areas,

highlighting the importance of trade cooperation, one of the most widespread networks

in the world, with a total trade in goods and services amounting to €369 billion in 2022.

The EU is the main investor in LATAM, but it is worryingly losing ground to China.

Cooperation in security has also increased in recent years due to the significant rise of

organized crime in Latin American institutions and its connections with transnational

crime networks, and furthermore, because of the deteriorating security situation in

many of the countries of the continent.

Despite the holding of these Summits and the need to simplify international relations

through organizations such as ECLAC, all the speakers agreed on pointing out that

LATAM is not a unit, but a complex and heterogeneous territory where it is essential to

know the idiosyncrasy of each country, since each one has its own problems, and the

formulas that work in one country may not be applicable to another country.

The same applies to the EU's green agenda. These demands cannot be transferred

automatically to Latin America, both due to historical reasons and to the current

economic reality. One cannot extrapolate an idea from one part of the world to another.

There is a great asymmetry, due to the industrialization era in Europe, which gives it a

head start of 200 years.

The structure of LATAM is different from that of Europe. LATAM needs to be part of the

process, not just a recipient of investments. More re-industrialization agreements are

needed.

Security plays a fundamental role in the fabric of the EU-LATAM cooperation, and it is

precisely in this area that the European Intelligence and Security Services can play an

important role.

From the point of view of investments, LATAM stands out for its potential in the areas

of food, energy and good level of training of its human resources. Rising demography

rates are considered a plus for investments (800 million people in 2050). The main

weaknesses are: Social inequality, poor infrastructures, the need for increased foreign

investment and greater involvement of institutions. It is always advisable to work with

a local partner in the project you want to start and choose the country very carefully,

since not all bear the same qualities.

China's influence in the region was also discussed, based mainly on its investment

potential and the ease with which China quickly provides for, and covers, the existing

needs. In this sense, it is considered important to be able to make LATAM see that the

cheapest option is not always the best one, without asking them to give up China. Thus,

the Global Gateway initiative could become an alternative to the Silk Road and offer

something different from what the Asian country offers: Sustainability and employment.

GERHARD CONRAD

24 April 2024

Do you want to know the work of an intelligence officer on strategic issues?

In this case, please watch this interview of the Intelligence and Security Senior Adviser of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Gerhard Conrad. Former BND Officer and High Level Hostage´s Negotiator in the Middle East. He led the UE Intelligence Centre (UE INTCEN) from 2016 to 2020, before retiring and moving towards various advising and teaching positions. He is currently Visiting Professor in the Kings College of London. He has also written an interesting book in German: “Keine lizenz zum töten” (No licence to kill), at the Econ Publish House in 2022.

https://youtu.be/-2Rk43clo41?feature=shared

LE DIRECTEUR DU RENSEIGNEMENT NATIONAL SUÉDOIS À L´IFRI PARIS.

8 April 2024

Le 2 avril 2024, le directeur du renseignement national suédois, Dag Hartelius, a fait une présentation à l'IFRI, dans le cadre du cycle européen du renseignement soutenu par le Collège du Renseignement en Europe (ICE). Le thème de la conférence était « Menaces hybrides – tâches et défis pour la communauté du renseignement ».

L'Ambassadeur Dag Hartelius, venu à Paris le 5 mars 2019 pour le lancement de l´ICE, était heureux de revenir à Paris, pour son cinquième anniversaire, et de participer à ce cycle IFRI/ICE. Il était le quatrième participant à ce cycle de sensibilisation après les hauts représentants du renseignement de France, d'Italie et d'Espagne.

Face à un nouveau type de menace, la menace hybride, la communauté internationale doit réagir avec de nouveaux outils qui, nécessairement, ne peuvent pas être uniquement militaires, mais devront combiner d’autres variables.

Ce n’est pas que les menaces hybrides ou les éléments de menace hybride n’existaient pas auparavant, pensez à certaines campagnes de désinformation pendant la guerre froide, mais c’était différent à la fois en termes de portée et de mode. La révolution de l’information et la surabondance d’informations ont ouvert de nombreuses possibilités en termes d’attaques asymétriques et opportunistes contre nos sociétés démocratiques.

Déjà au sein de l’UE et de l’OTAN, de nouvelles stratégies et de nouveaux outils, tels que les Centres d’excellence de Riga (sur la désinformation), de Tallinn (sur la cybersécurité) et d’Helsinki (sur les menaces hybrides), ont été développés. Mais face à des attaques aussi vastes, opportunistes et asymétriques, nous avons besoin d’un nouvel état d’esprit avec une approche « de l’ensemble du gouvernement ».

Plus précisément, en ce qui concerne le Renseignement, l’évolution a été double :

- Les services de l'Etat n'ont plus le monopole de l'information fiable et exploitable. D'autres sources d'informations (que ce soit dans OSINT ou dans IMINT) sont tout aussi valables, complémentaires et nécessaires pour comprendre la situation actuelle des menaces. Il faut donc compter sur des sources multiples qui ne doivent pas nécessairement provenir du renseignement en tant que tel.

- Nous avons vu, pendant la guerre d'Ukraine, l'utilisation répétitive du renseignement à des fins STRATCOM. À cet égard, le renseignement devient un nouvel outil.

Nous sommes aujourd’hui dans un écosystème global qui nécessite une vision transversale, horizontale et holistique, capable d’apporter des réponses différentes aux différentes menaces. L’invasion russe de l’Ukraine a montré qu’il reste encore un long chemin à parcourir pour mieux se préparer à anticiper les menaces futures.

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF SWEDEN IN THE IFRI PARIS

8 April 2024

On 2nd April 2024, the Director of National Intelligence of Sweden, Dag Hartelius, gave a presentation in the IFRI, as part of the European Intelligence cycle supported by the Intelligence College in Europe. The topic of the conference was “Hybrid Threats –Tasks and Challenges for the Intelligence Community”.

Ambassador Dag Hartelius, who came to Paris on the 5th March 2019 for the launch of the Intelligence College in Europe, was happy to come back to Paris, for its fifth anniversary, and to participate to this IFRI / ICE cycle. He was the fourth participant of this outreach cycle after Intelligence High representatives from France, Italy and Spain.

Faced with a new type of threat, the hybrid threat, the international community has to respond with new tools that, necessarily, cannot be only military, but will have to combine other variables.

It is not that hybrid threats or elements of hybrid threat did not exist before, think about some Disinformation campaigns during the Cold War, but it was different both in terms of scope and modus. The information revolution and the information overload have given plenty of possibilities in terms of asymmetric and opportunistic attacks against our democratic societies.

Already in EU and NATO, some new strategies and some new tools, such as the Centres of excellence of Riga (on Disinformation), of Tallinn (on Cyber) and of Helsinki (on Hybrid threats), have been developed. But, faced with such wide, opportunistic and asymmetric attacks, we need a new mind set with an “all-the-government” approach.

More specifically, with regard to Intelligence, the evolution has been twofold:

  • State services have no more the monopoly of reliable and actionable information. Other sources of information (be it in OSINT or in IMINT) are equally valid, complementary and necessary to understand the current threat situation. We must therefore count on multiple sources that do not necessarily have to come from Intelligence as such.
  • We have seen, during the Ukrainian war, the repetitive use of intelligence for STRATCOM purpose. Intelligence, in this regard, is becoming a new tool.

Today we are in a comprehensive ecosystem that requires a cross-cutting, horizontal and holistic vision capable of providing different responses to different threats. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown that there is a long way to go in being better prepared to anticipate future threats.

GERMANY / ICE 5th LAW AND INTELLIGENCE SERVICES SYMPOSIUM

29 March 2024

From March 21st  to 22nd, the 5th Law & Intelligence Services Symposium has taken place in Berlin, organized jointly by the Federal Chancellery and the Federal Ministry of the Interior with the focus, this year, “Intelligence services and armed conflicts”.

Superbly organized, this Symposium brought together academic specialists in Law and researchers in Intelligence Studies with members of the association of former executives of the German services (for more details, see www.gknd.de), current leaders of the main services, Members of the Parliament (also  members of the control commissions), senior executives from the Ministry of Defense, the Interior and the National Coordination and some specialized journalists. It made it possible to address various subjects linked to conflict law and to develop in detail the issues linked to hybrid threats.

Before the closing speech by the National Intelligence Coordinator, an important discussion was held in the active presence, inter alia, of the President of the BND, the President of the G10 Parliamentary Control Commission, the President of BaMAD, the Vice-President of the BFV (1). In fact placed under the long shadow of the war in Ukraine and the famous declaration of February 27, 2024 made by Chancellor Scholz on the strategic shift (“Der 24.Februar 2022 markiert eine Zeitenwende in der Geschichte unseres Kontinents.”), this symposium made it possible to discuss how this shift impacted or should impact the German Services community.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Intelligence College in Europe, which works closely with Germany, one of its founding members and one of its most permanent supporters, was present there.

(1) – Respectively Civil and Military Foreign Intelligence Service, Military Protection and Counter-Espionage Service and (Federal) Internal Security Service.

ALLEMAGNE SYMPOSIUM DROIT ET SERVICES DE RENSEIGNEMENT

26 March 2024

Allemagne / CRE - 5 ème Symposium Droit et Services de Renseignement

Du 21 au 22 mars, s’est tenu à Berlin le 5ème Symposium Droit & Services de renseignement, organisé conjointement par la Chancellerie fédérale et par le ministère fédéral de l’Intérieur avec comme focus pour cette année « Services de renseignement et conflits armés ».

Superbement organisé, ce Symposium regroupait universitaires spécialistes du Droit et chercheurs en Intelligence Studies avec des membres de l’association des anciens cadres des services allemands (pour plus de détail, cf. www.gknd.de ), des dirigeants actuels des principaux services, de députés membres des commissions de contrôle, des cadres dirigeants du ministère de la Défense, de l’Intérieur et de la Coordination nationale et quelques journalistes spécialisés.

Il a permis d’aborder divers sujets liés au droit des conflits et de développer en détail les problématiques liées aux menaces hybrides. Avant le discours de clôture par la Coordinatrice nationale du Renseignement, s’est tenue une importante discussion en présence, notamment, du Président du BND, du Président de la Commission de contrôle parlementaire G10, de la Présidente du BaMAD, de la vice-Présidente du BFV (1).

De fait placé sous l’ombre portée de la guerre en Ukraine et de la fameuse déclaration du 27 février 2024 faite par le Chancelier Scholz sur la bascule stratégique (« Der 24.Februar 2022 markiert eine Zeitenwende in der Geschichte unseres Kontinents. »), ce symposium a permis d’évoquer en quoi cette bascule impactait ou devait impacter la communauté des Services allemands.

Le Secrétariat Permanent du Collège du Renseignement en Europe, qui œuvre de manière étroite avec l’Allemagne, un de ses membres fondateurs et un de ses soutiens les plus permanents, y était présent.  

(1)    – Respectivement Service du renseignement extérieur civil et militaire, Service de Protection et de contre-espionnage militaire et Service de sécurité intérieur (fédéral).

LE SECRÉTAIRE GÉNÉRAL DU CNI À L´IFRI PARIS

22 March 2024

Le 7 février 2024, le secrétaire général du Centre national de renseignement (CNI) d'Espagne, le sous-secrétaire Arturo Relanzón, a donné une conférence à l'IFRI, dans le cadre du cycle européen de renseignement soutenu par le Collège européen du renseignement, présidé par L’Espagne en 2024. Le thème de la conférence était « Instabilité au Sahel, impact sur la sécurité de l’Europe ».

 Le directeur de l'IFRI, Thomas Gomart, a accueilli et présidé l'événement et le directeur adjoint de l'IFRI, Marc Hecker, ainsi que la directrice internationale de l'Agence française de presse (AFP), Daphné Benoit, y ont participé.

L'instabilité au Sahel est déterminée par les conditions politiques, sociales et économiques de la région. Dans certains cas, ces conditions peuvent constituer un terrain fertile pour la radicalisation (avec pour conséquence un impact sur la menace terroriste) et pour une migration clandestine massive. L’Europe devrait améliorer son travail et sa collaboration dans la région, en approfondissant la connaissance mutuelle.

Les menaces venant du Sahel vers l’Europe ne sont pas indépendantes et les combattre individuellement n’est peut-être pas la meilleure option. L’Europe devrait adopter une approche globale pour faire face à « tout, partout, d’un seul coup ». De la même manière, l'action des pays doit s'inscrire dans le cadre de l'action européenne commune.

M. Arturo Relanzón était le troisième participant à ce cycle de l'IFRI après les coordonnateurs du renseignement français et italien.

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SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE CNI IN THE IFRI PARIS

22 March 2024

On 7 February 2024, the Secretary General of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) of Spain, Undersecretary Mr Arturo Relanzón, gave a conference in the IFRI, as part of the European Intelligence cycle supported by the Intelligence College in Europe, which is chaired by Spain in 2024. The topic of the conference was “Instability in the Sahel, impact on the Security of Europe”.

The Director of the IFRI, Thomas Gomart, hosted and chaired the event and the Deputy Director of the IFRI, Marc Hecker, and the Head of International of the French Press Agency (AFP), Daphné Benoit participated in it.

The instability in the Sahel is determined by the political, social and economic conditions in the region. In some cases, those conditions may be fertile ground for radicalisation (with the consequent impact on the terrorist threat) and for massive illegal migration. Europe should improve its work and collaboration in the region, deepening on mutual knowledge.

The threats coming from the Sahel to Europe are not independent and tackling them individually may not be the best option. Europe should take a holistic approach to face “everything, everywhere, all at once”. In the same way, the action of countries should be framed in the context of the joint European action.

Mr. Arturo Relanzón was the third participant of this IFRI cycle after the French and the Italian Intelligence Coordinators.

PARIS DEFENCE AND STRATEGY FORUM

22 March 2024

ICE and the Paris Defence and Strategy Forum

On the 13th-14th of March 2024, The Paris Defence and Strategy Forum (PDSF) was held in Ecole Militaire de Paris. This Forum, organised by the French Defence University (ACADEM), is the first event of significant scope in France focused on defence and security, with a strong European focus. It brings together French and international civilian and military subject matter experts in different formats. On the fifth anniversary of ICE, it was the occasion to publicize the new achievements of the Intelligence College in Europe, as done in the past during the “La Fabrique Defense” event.

ICE presence and actions

The Intelligence College in Europe (ICE) has participated in the event, in three main ways:

  • During the whole two days, thanks to a dedicated stand within the central agora. Well placed, it has been visited by a multitude of participants, among them, many experts and researchers, high-ranking military personnel from various parts of the world, including the Austrian Director of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), members of defence-related think tanks, security directors of public and private companies in the field of defence and security. Likewise, various French official cadres related to the issue of security were present, the most prominent being the French Minister of Defence himself.
  • On the 13 een of March, the Romanian Deputy Director of Intelligence, Mr Bizadea, has delivered, just after the former French minister in charge of the French Public Service (Mrs de Montchalin) one of the two keynote speeches kicking of the first roundtables on Human Resources entitled “War on talents”,
  • On the 14 een of March, the Director of PS.ICE has delivered the last keynote speech of the Forum on “European Intelligence & Security, Challenges and opportunities”, describing first the specific EU set-up and, then digging in on the various challenges and opportunities to be tackled in the next future. This keynote speech, followed by a Q&A phase, has allowed to detail the need of a common intel-based strategic culture and the ICE role.

The forum was an excellent outreach opportunity for ICE as the College is reaching maturity, extending its impact in the Academic domain and in Brussels, while intensifying its Public relations actions.

Spain took the presidency of the ICE for 2024

2 February 2024

The message of Secretary of State Esperanza Casteleiro, Directora of the CNI, on the occasion of taking the Presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe

Dear colleagues, 

In 2019, the Intelligence College in Europe was born as an instrument for dialogue among the European Intelligence community, decision-making entities and society. The College aspired to stimulate strategic thinking and develop a European Intelligence culture, with the aim of reinforcing security in Europe. 

Counting on the real and effective commitment of all members and partners and with the support of the academic world, the College offers a different and distinctive format aspiring to make cooperation between European Intelligence Services visible, as well as to reach society and, particularly, decision makers. 

The path followed so far has been intense and exceptional, thanks to the contribution of all College members and, most especially, to the impulse and sustained effort of the Permanent Secretariat. 

As Secretary of State-Director of the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia, it is a pleasure for me to inform you that on 1 st February 2024 Spain will assume the Presidency of the College. With humbleness, eagerness and responsibility, Spain will try to be up to our predecessors and foster internal dialogue, the participation of all countries and the continuity of ongoing projects. 

Thanks to the support of our colleagues Romania and Norway in the Troika, this year will allow us to consolidate the project, stabilize 

its functioning and promote the academic network, which should be the College's main driving force. 

It is also the moment to move forward as regards its visibility. We aim to be a reference for European structures and decision makers. To this end, it is vital that European citizens get to know us and acknowledge the value offered by Intelligence and Security Services to their freedom and well-being. We need to continue working to reinforce the relation and collaboration with European institutions. However, it is also essential to improve communication and to particularly address the generations that are taking over as decision makers, participatory youth. 

Spain's unwavering dedication to Europe is thus confirmed in our commitment to the ICE project and our conviction of the College's contribution to the security of European citizens. 

Yours sincerely