Saturday

5th Sep 2015

News in Brief

  1. UN climate chief: No such thing as ideal pace for pre-Paris talks
  2. UK to accept 'thousands more' Syrian refugees
  3. Talks next week to soothe Northern Ireland tension
  4. Putin wants new 'coalition to fight terrorism'
  5. Lithuanian President: We must show solidarity on migration
  6. ECB signals plan to buy more bonds
  7. Report: Bulgaria and Hungary turn to Israel for fence technology
  8. EU to start destroying Mediterranean smugglers' boats
What is 'SECRET UE' anyway?

Classified files can damage EU interests if they get into the wrong hands. But where is the line between security and transparency? What is the difference between a lobbyist and a spy? EUobserver investigates.

EUobserver investigative reports

"SECRET UE" is the fourth in a series of EUobserver investigative reports. It looks at what kind of high-value information the EU institutions have, who wants it and how they are trying to protect it.

About Andrew Rettman

Andrew Rettman writes about foreign relations for EUobserver. He joined the site in 2005 and specialises in Israel, Russia, the EU foreign service and security issues. He is 37 years old and was born in Warsaw, Poland.

What is 'SECRET UE' anyway?

EU countries have a protocol for sharing official "secrets." But motives for classifying files are not always pure and the number of really hush hush papers in Brussels is tiny.

Espionage in Belgium: recent cases

With Belgium's spy-catcher-in-chief speaking out on espionage in the EU capital, TargetBRUSSELS and EUobserver profile recent cases which came out in the open.