Comments on: Europe’s Split With Washington Is Growing — But Its Vulnerabilities in Brussels Are Deeper /politics/europes-split-with-washington-is-growing-but-its-vulnerabilities-in-brussels-are-deeper/ Fact-based, well-reasoned perspectives from around the world Tue, 06 Jan 2026 09:49:02 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Pooka MacPhellimey /politics/europes-split-with-washington-is-growing-but-its-vulnerabilities-in-brussels-are-deeper/#comment-40696 Tue, 06 Jan 2026 09:49:02 +0000 /?p=160005#comment-40696 A central problem lies in the EU treaties which specifically excluded EU jurisdiction over a range of issues – property (including awkwardly intellectual property), crime and defence. Any effective EU counterintelligence role would require amending the treaties. The problem is multifarious… Not only do you have the difficulty of Hungary, the fifth columnist in the Council, but then there’s a need to get a referendum through in Ireland where the left have fetishised neutrality to the point of being ridiculous, and other members states which have now fallen under Russian influence.

It’s also fairly safe bet that a range of groups, many ‘astroturfed’ by Russia and/or wealthy US sponsors would be mobilised across the EU to oppose any such changes… After all they’ve been pretty successful at sponsoring various nativist groups, and they’ve been quite catholic in their support of both the far right and the far left (and it’s reasonable to suggest that this sort of sponsorship of extremism in Europe would be a target for counterintelligence.)

It’s far from clear how you solve this problem, because the member states while pooling sovereignty resisted the idea of pooling everything. Moreover, it’s not just Hungary’s improprieties with EU funds, there are several member of states whose politicians and their patrons might be quite uncomfortable with the idea of extending criminal jurisdiction to the EU, which could then take a hard look at where the money has gone.

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