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.

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

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

Du 21 au 22 mars, s’est tenu à Berlin le 5^ème 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).

On February 1, 2024, Spain assumes the Presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe. The Secretary of State Director of the CNI, Esperanza Casteleiro, sends a letter for the occasion in which she highlights that Spain will try to be up to its predecessors and foster internal dialogue, the participation of all countries and the continuity of ongoing projects.

On February 1, 2024, Spain assumes the presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe. The Secretary of State Director of the CNI sends a letter for this reason, thanking the previous presidency for its work and hoping that the new Spanish presidency can continue in the same line also contributing to ensure that the College continues to strengthen and growing.

The Intelligence College in Europe is proud to announce a new partner of our community – the Republic of Moldova, who will be the 31st country joining our common endeavour.   Under the Romanian Presidency and with the full support of all our Members, starting December 16th, the intelligence community of Moldova will participate, upon invitation, in a series of ICE activities, such as Thematic Seminars. Through workshops, discussions and roundtables, these seminars are an opportunity to exchange views between intelligence services, as well as with experts from the public sphere. We are confident that the work made by our community and the Republic of Moldova will increase our strength and will consolidate our efforts to develop a European common strategic culture.

Promoted by the Italian Intelligence System, “A Thesis for National Security” is an initiative dedicated to university students, who graduated presenting dissertations on intelligence-related topics. The fifth edition (2021-2022) offered 10 prizes worth €2,500 each for the best master thesis, rated no less than 105/110, on the following topics: geopolitics and international relations; threats to national security; law, doctrine and history of intelligence; economic and financial security. The Award has seen a constant increase in the number of applications over the years. With the participation of graduates from 50 Italian universities, the last edition confirms the value of the relationship between intelligence and academia to promote a shared culture of security.

SIRP has organized a course on Narcotrafficking: A European perspective, which delved in different aspects of this phenomenon. We kickstarted our quest by actively shifting our focus to Mapping the Network, aiming at pinpointing and comprehending the lifelines of this illicit trade—the production zones, transit routes, and distribution hubs. Our analysis exposed Europe's dual role as a market and a critical nexus in this global trafficking dilemma. Secondly, we scrutinized the Socio-Economic Implications, unravelling how narcotrafficking weaves into the socio-economic fabric of our nations, affecting economies, altering employment landscapes, and testing the resilience of our societies.

On September 19 and 20, 2023, the Seminar on Intelligence and Decision Making, organized by the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE) and the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI) of Spain, took place at the José Ortega y Gasset-Gregorio Marañón Foundation (FOM) in Madrid. The seminar was inaugurated by the Secretary of State Director of the CNI, Esperanza Casteleiro, and had the participation of the Secretary General of the CNI himself, Arturo Relanzón, and that of different European Intelligence Services, managers of the public and private sector, heads of office and senior officials of several European security institutions and academics from different countries. The participation of prestigious academic staff and private companies favored the plurality of points of view and enriched the dialogue, achieving a much broader and more valuable vision of the needs of Intelligence consumers. The level of representation of some of the highest EU clients of Intelligence has helped bringing in interesting feedbacks and points of view, in many cases different from the national points of view. To be noted, also, the active and dynamic presence of both EU SATCEN and EU INTCEN’s directors, who have helped the attendees to better understand the relations between national and European decision-makers on one side and the degree of intelligence support given to the EU institutions on the other side.

From October 2nd to October 6th the postgraduate course ‘Intelligence and the Military’ took place in The Hague, the Netherlands. This event was hosted by the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy (NLDA) and supported by the Dutch Defence Intelligence and Security Service under the framework of the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE). Around 30 participants from 15 countries attended, coming from the full range of ICE member intelligence organizations.