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.

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.

On 31st of May and 1st of June 2023, the Belgian Security (VSSE) and CUTA, with the support of the Royal Military Academy and the Institute Egmont, organised a Thematic Seminar on “How to implement strategic issues in the intelligence work?” which attracted a very large affluence, gathering 80 participants from 23 countries and international organisations. Due to the high interest in the subject, the informal atmosphere, and its diversified setup, bringing together intelligence practitioners, academics, think tankers, and decision-makers (recipients of strategic intelligence or people involved in the prioritisation), the Thematic Seminar was both intensive and intense. During this seminar, participants were given the opportunity to ask questions and address issues related to their daily work, as well as problematics most important to them, making it particularly interactive. This first ever ICE seminar in Brussels shows also all the interest of such events, giving the opportunity to make selected EU outreach actions and to flag the high degree of cooperation within our European intelligence and security community.

From 1st to 3rd of March 2023, France welcomed in Paris an Intelligence College in Europe seminar on open-source intelligence (OSINT). During this event, the six main French intelligence services, as well as academics, EU and European member states services representatives and civil society members have been able to dialogue on their views and concerns as far as challenges and developments of OSINT are concerned. Even if OSINT is still delicate to define in a homogenous way all over Europe and beyond, a few consensuses arose thank to the various presentations. OSINF (Open Source Information) is one part of the scene, it encompasses commercial data basis or available in open data, accessible to the public for any kind of purpose (research, watch). On the other hand, OSINT covers more targeted field. It is concrete and actionable intelligence collected on precise target, with complex techniques from screening to de-anonymisation. The purpose of the collection makes the difference between OSINF and OSINT.

Under the framework of the Intelligence College in Europe the Portuguese Republic Intelligence System (SIRP), organised on 29th November 2022, the “Psychology in the Service of Intelligence” Seminar, which was attended by 41 representatives of ICE members states and partners, as well as European academics.

On December 14, 2022, the Complutense University of Madrid hosted the “Intelligence Services and Society” Seminar, attended by representatives of the ICE Members, experts, academics and some EU officials. The two panels were led by experts on the topic and a group of young people, whose profiles and interests intended to contribute and stimulate out-of-the box thinking and improve the conclusions.

Invited by Dirk Dubois, the Director of the European Defence and Security College (ESDC), Mr Fischer the Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intelligence College in Europe, has intervened during the Annual ESDC Doctoral School Conference, on the 11th July 2022.

On the 13th and 14th June 2022, the seminar ‘Intelligence Cooperation in the 21st Century’ took place in Breda, the Netherlands. This event was hosted by the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy (NLDA) and supported by both Dutch Intelligence and Security Services under the framework of the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE). Around 70 participants from 21 countries attended.

From 17 May to 19 May 2022, the Austrian Strategic Intelligence Agency held a thematic seminar on "Anticipation by Intelligence". Austria welcomed almost 140 participants from 24 nations. Methodologically, the conference was designed in the form of presentations, panel discussions and working groups to enable the broadest possible involvement of the participants. The following questions were discussed, among others: How does the relationship between intelligence producers and costumers function nationally and internationally? What can and what does the political decision-maker need to know and what effect does intelligence anticipation have in the decision-making process? What can and cannot be expected from intelligence anticipation? What is the role of methodology and technology in anticipating threats and challenges now and in the future?

On 21 and 22 February 2022 in Paris, the French Intelligence Community organised with the College a thematic seminar on intelligence and space. Space involves much more than military and security issues. Its mastering involves daily applications ranging from communications, connectivity and synchronisation, to geolocation and meteorology. These applications are of daily use and their resilience is strategic. Before an audience made up of members of the Intelligence College in Europe, speakers from research, institutions, industry and services elaborated on the challenges that space represents now. A summary of this seminar is available hereunder.