Plans for 'Euro CIA' could 'force Britain to share security secrets'

Brussels is planning a 'Euro CIA' which would threaten Britain's national security by forcing MI5 to pool its intelligence, critics warn.

France and Germany are pushing for the sharing of security secrets and far greater integration between national police forces to tackle terrorism.

It led to fears that the U.S. would stop sharing important security secrets with the UK because the European Union has such a problem with leaks.

The proposals are contained in a document by six EU countries, known as the Future Group. They want to see the beefing up of a shadowy Brussels-based intelligence-sharing body known as the Joint Situation Centre.

The organisation, also called Sitcen, was established in the 1990s to provide analysis on international crises to the EU foreign affairs commissioner.

But following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the secretive organisation has seen its role grow to focus on counterterrorism and security.

Now the document, drawn up by the governments of France, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, says the body should have a much bigger role, co-ordinating the work of intelligence services across Europe.

It would be in charge of a network of anti-terror centres, which would have access to secret intelligence from each of the EU's 27 countries. The plan has already been dubbed the European CIA, named after the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

The eurosceptic organisation Open Europe said that any EU version would be far less effective and reliable than its American counterpart  -  and would put Britain's relationship with the U.S. at risk.

'Moves towards a Euro CIA are not a good idea,' said Open Europe's Neil O'Brien. 'The U.S. will not share intelligence with us if we are going to pass it on to an organisation which leaks like a sieve. We could find ourselves putting a lot into such an organisation and getting very little back.'

The issue of EU leaks was raised two years ago by Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, who said: 'For a long time it has been known that, within an hour after being distributed to the member states, all EU documents concerning the Middle East have already reached Tel Aviv, and probably Washington and Moscow.'

In the 1990s, the French were accused of handing information received from MI6 to the Serb military during the war in the former Yugoslavia.

However, the Future Group document says anti-terrorist campaigns can only be effective if 'maximum information flow between (EU) member states is guaranteed'.

It says: 'Relevant security related information should be available to all security authorities in the member states', adding that 'networks of anti-terrorist centres' were a possible solution.

Mr O'Brien also accused France and Germany of pushing ahead with proposals in the Lisbon-Treaty to create a Europewide police force, despite the treaty's rejection by Irish voters.

The Future Group document also suggests that by 2014, the EU should have a common immigration policy.

Last night Conservative Europe spokesman Mark Francois said: 'Everyone knows our Europhile Foreign Secretary David Miliband has other things on his mind at the moment but he should be focusing on these worrying proposals.

'There are already well established procedures for sharing sensitive intelligence information to combat terrorism, but this report goes well beyond that. When Parliament returns we will want to press ministers in detail about these plans.'

Last night a Home Office spokesman said: 'Under European law there is no question of the UK being forced to participate in measures it opposed.'