The EU's foreign policy service is seeking to expand its intelligence analysis division to cement its position as Brussels' conduit for classified information, three EU officials briefed on the matter told Politico, the latter reports.

As part of the EU's overhaul of its security strategy, the European External Action Service is planning to propose giving its Intelligence and Situation Centre (INTCEN) a human resources department and its own IT infrastructure, affording it greater bureaucratic weight within the institution, according to the three EU officials, who were granted anonymity so they could freely discuss the inner workings of the Commission and the EEAS.

INTCEN has no operational espionage capabilities of its own; instead, it analyzes intelligence shared voluntarily by EU countries and passes its assessments to senior officials in the EEAS, the Commission and the European Council.