BERLIN — The Bundestag’s top intelligence experts are calling for a European spy network, warning that Europe can’t rely on intelligence from the United States amid growing uncertainty.
Konstantin von Notz, chairman of the German parliament’s intelligence oversight committee, urged Germany and its European allies to establish their own intelligence-sharing network. “We need a European intelligence cooperation format — call it ‘Euro Eyes’ — to ensure that strong states can exchange information swiftly and securely on clear legal grounds,” he told POLITICO.
“There is no way around increasing our own intelligence capabilities in the future.”
His proposal comes as intelligence-sharing fractures between the United States and its allies raise alarm bells in Berlin. The CIA’s abrupt decision to suspend intelligence exchange with Ukraine — confirmed by Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday — heightened concerns that similar restrictions could extend to Germany, further jeopardizing Europe’s security.
“This is a paradigm shift that would hit us hard,” Roderich Kiesewetter, deputy chair of the Bundestag’s intelligence oversight committee, told POLITICO. “We have relied for decades on U.S. intelligence capabilities. If this is taken away from us, we must quickly develop alternative structures.”
Germany’s security agencies have long depended on U.S. intelligence to track terrorist threats, cyberattacks, and espionage activities. Kiesewetter warned that without access to U.S. intelligence, Germany could lose crucial early warnings.
In 2007, the CIA intercepted emails from the “Sauerland group,” an Islamist cell planning bombings in Germany. U.S. intelligence shared the leads with German security officials, enabling German authorities to thwart the attack. In 2023, American agencies tipped off German authorities about two Iran-linked suspects in the western city of Castrop-Rauxel who were allegedly preparing a chemical attack.
Von Notz emphasized that intelligence cooperation is mutually beneficial. “It has never been a one-way street — Germany, along with other partners, also contributes to intelligence endeavors for the U.S.”
But due to what Kiesewetter describes as the “unpredictability” of U.S. President Donald Trump, German lawmakers are exploring ways to strengthen alternative alliances.
Von Notz suggested deepening ties with the so-called Five Eyes alliance — a long-standing intelligence-sharing partnership among the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. — but warned that Europe must not be solely dependent on this network. Instead, he argues, European countries should build their own intelligence-sharing system that reflects their specific security needs and vulnerabilities.
“There is no doubt that Five Eyes partners share the goal of defending democratic freedoms,” von Notz said. “Germany and Europe need to invest more in intelligence structures and forge deeper partnerships based on exactly these shared values.”
The Euro Eyes suggestion echoes a broader push within the European Union to establish homegrown intelligence cooperation. A report by former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, commissioned by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and published late October last year, proposed the creation of a “fully fledged intelligence cooperation service” at the EU level to counter espionage and foreign interference. Niinistö argued that Europe needs its own intelligence-sharing network to reduce reliance on the U.S.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov indicated that Kyiv is already looking for intelligence alternatives. “As for intelligence, we didn’t yet get the details on how it will be restricted,” he said while meeting his German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Berlin on Thursday. “But we are already working for the alternatives, including that — if necessary — we will be requesting from Germany as well.”
German lawmakers float ‘Euro Eyes’ spy network amid uncertainty on US intel
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