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Russian Spies May Already Be Inside EU Institutions, Finnish MEP Warns
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Finnish MEP Pekka Toveri, a former head of Finland’s military intelligence, claimed that people spying for Russia are operating inside EU institutions and called for Brussels to create its own counterintelligence structure, DW reported on November 10.
Toveri told DW that EU institutions remain vulnerable to foreign intelligence operations because Belgian law enforcement and security services lack sufficient resources and transparency in their cooperation with European bodies.
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He argued that such a body would be needed to protect EU institutions from intelligence operations conducted by Russia, China, and other foreign states.
Toveri, a retired Finnish major general, was previously among a group of MEPs who warned European Parliament President Roberta Metsola that pro-Russian lawmakers and their assistants could pass sensitive information to Moscow, including details related to financial and military support for Ukraine.
According to DW, Toveri has not received a response to that letter.
Asked whether Russian intelligence services could have recruited sources inside the European Commission, European Council, or European External Action Service, Toveri expressed certainty that such operations had taken place.
“I am 100 percent certain that there are people in our structures who work for the Russians,” he told DW.
Toveri attributed the threat to long-running operations by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, military intelligence, and the Federal Security Service. He emphasized that his assessment reflected his experience in intelligence rather than publicly presented evidence identifying specific individuals.
“We shouldn’t underestimate the Russians and their intelligence agencies,” Toveri stressed.
He also distinguished between politicians expressing pro-Russian views and people engaged in illegal activity on behalf of Moscow, arguing that political speech alone does not establish an intelligence connection.
According to Toveri, Russian services use established recruitment methods to identify people with access to sensitive information and exploit vulnerabilities including financial difficulties, personal grievances, blackmail, or romantic relationships.
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He warned that experienced intelligence officers may also pose as representatives of Western agencies when approaching potential recruits, making such operations difficult to identify.
Concerns over sensitive EU information reaching Moscow have surfaced before. In March, leaked communications cited in European reporting raised allegations that confidential EU deliberations were being relayed to Russia through political channels inside the bloc.
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