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 move follows an attempt last year by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to set up her own intelligence collection operation, only for the plan to be scuppered by resistance from national capitals.

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. The renewed attention lends fresh weight to a unit often dismissed as toothless — and comes as officials in Brussels and national capitals have floated the question of whether the EU needs its own spy agency.

The EU’s new European Security Strategy, which is being drafted by the Commission and the EEAS, should be published this summer. It is expected to use an expansive definition of security that goes beyond defense to include economic security, supply chains, preparedness and partnerships with countries outside the EU, a fourth person briefed on the strategy told POLITICO.

The document, which has been advertised as a “grand strategy,” is expected to be short and to include a geopolitical threat assessment, a status report on European security, and a roadmap for future action, the person said.

The roadmap will propose up to 10 major ideas for change, including an expansion of INTCEN, one of the three officials told POLITICO. Since the proposal would not change the body’s legal mandate, give it collection powers or require new budget lines, one official said, it could likely be treated as an administrative matter within the EEAS.

In a statement to POLITICO, EEAS spokesperson Anita Hipper denied that any changes were planned. She said INTCEN’s staffing levels, office space and secure IT tools are managed by the EEAS, which operates under a consolidated budget rather than separate budgets for individual entities.

In public, European intelligence officials are eager to highlight instances of cooperation among EU spy agencies, but two senior intelligence officials from different EU countries, speaking to POLITICO on condition of anonymity, expressed skepticism about the utility of INTCEN, citing a culture among national intelligence agencies of keeping valuable information to themselves and lingering distrust even among friendly EU countries.

“We’re partners,” one of the senior national intelligence officials said. “But we’re not friends.”

Estonia’s foreign intelligence chief Kaupo Rosin told POLITICO he fully supported closer cooperation, comparing INTCEN favorably with a similar effort at NATO. But he dismissed calls by some German lawmakers for a “European Five Eyes,” a reference to a close intelligence-sharing arrangement among Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“I don’t see it really happening in the real world,” Rosin said. “Intel is a national business, and nobody wants to have somebody else operate [it].”

Finland’s intelligence chief Juha Martelius agreed that EU leaders should have access to good intelligence when making decisions on security matters. Still, he said, there are many ways to achieve that aim. He stressed that under the EU treaties, the bloc can’t direct the security or intelligence activities of national governments.

Skepticism of intelligence-gathering by the EU derailed an effort by the European Commission last November to set up an internal cell to collect intelligence from across Europe. The unit would have been overseen by von der Leyen’s office, as part of an effort to protect the bloc from Russian digital attacks and sabotage.

But the plan triggered a backlash from European capitals and the EEAS, forcing the EU executive to scale back its ambitions. The president’s head of cabinet, Björn Seibert, is now focusing efforts on an economic security unit instead, one of the EU officials said.

Eva Hartog contributed reporting for this article.