While Americans realize how much damage the CIA has done to their lives and begin calling to abolish it, the European Union is saying: Ooh, let’s get one of those… According to a report in the Financial Times, the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen is creating a new intelligence unit inside the EU bureaucracy. It is basically a proto–CIA for Europe. The office will reportedly pool intelligence from member-state spy agencies and coordinate analysis on foreign threats like Russia, China, and cyber warfare. Officials say the goal is to make the bloc less dependent on the United States for intelligence and more capable of responding to hybrid attacks on its own. This new centralized spy hub would reportedly be managed by Ursula von der Leyen herself, an unelected bureaucrat who has faced multiple investigations for corruption and misuse of power during her tenure. So let me get this straight. Europe, which spies on its own citizens, prosecutes speech, and wants to police their every cent of citizens’ spending, is going to use this power only for foreign intelligence? If you believe that, I’ve got a carbon credit to sell you. The post The EU Builds Its Own Spy Agency appeared first on Redacted.