EU to build new top-secret bunker – media – RT World News
Leaders’ phones, watches and hearing aids to be banned from allegedly anti-spy dugout
The European Union is spending 8 million euros ($8.1 million) to build a secure bunker in Brussels where leaders can meet in secret, EUobserver reported on Friday. The room will be isolated against electronic interference and all gadgets will be banned from entering, with the news site saying such measures are necessary against « Russian or other spies. »
Claiming to have seen an EU memo outlining the project, EUobserver said the chamber will be designed to accommodate around 100 people comprising up to 34 executives and associated staff. Due to be built by 2024, the bunker will be located somewhere within the European Council complex in the Belgian capital.
The meeting room will be offline, but will contain wired microphones to secure interpreter booths. The room and these booths will be surrounded by a « NATO Certified Isolation Cage » to prevent electromagnetic and radio waves from inside from being picked up outside, and anyone seeking entry, even cleaners, will need a “SECRET EU” security clearance – the second highest classification level in the block.
According to the so-called EU memo, the facility will be swept « before and after meetings to detect, locate and neutralize any eavesdropping device », and anyone entering should leave phones, laptops, smartwatches, electronic key fobs and hearing aids in soundproof lockers outside.
This intense focus on safety aims to exclude « Indiscreet Russians or others », EUobserver wrote. However, it is unclear whether the EU is building the chamber in response to a specific security threat or out of a general sense of caution. Individual EU members have accused Russia of espionage long before Moscow sent troops to Ukraine, and the expulsion of diplomats for alleged espionage is commonplace in international relations, with Belgium claiming to have expelled dozens of Russian spies earlier this year.
However, espionage takes place between allies as often as adversaries, with the United States notoriously bugging 122 world leaders around 2014. Extensive surveillance was carried out by the United States National Security Agency on top officials in France and Germany, according to documents released by WikiLeaks.
Israel and China have also been accused of carrying out surveillance operations in Brussels, and the EU has pressed Belgium for years to strengthen its espionage laws, which allow espionage to go unpunished in many cases. .
You can share this story on social media:
rt
