"A European intelligence school is conceivable as a means by which national intelligence services can learn best practices from one another. But there can never be an integrated [EU] intelligence service because of certain national secrets," Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, a member of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defense, and a member of France's Rassemblement bleu Marine (Marine Blue Gathering) alliance said Thursday.
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Although some states may want to share their intelligence in specific cases, there "can never be an integrated European intelligence service" if EU states want to retain their independence, Schaffhauser added.
"In the domain of military technology, France can never agree to pool her resources with other states. European initiatives in this area can take place only under national leadership, maybe with outsourcing to other countries but always under national control," Schaffhauser stressed.
The joint spy school is one of the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects aimed at encouraging closer defence cooperation among member states.
The views and opinions expressed by the speaker do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.