For the first time, a panel of sixty intelligence experts from twenty five countries has ranked Europe’s top spy agencies. The verdict, published by L’Express, offers a rare peek into how insiders judge each other’s tradecraft.
1. MI6 (United Kingdom)
Britain’s storied service takes the crown, prized for its patience: recruiting high value sources and nurturing them for years. Experts say MI6 has quietly burrowed into the inner circles of Russia, China, Turkey, and Iran, and its early warnings ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine only boosted its standing.
2. DGSE (France)
France’s foreign intelligence agency ranks as the continent’s only truly global player, blending signals intelligence with old fashioned human sources and field operations. Its signature win: reportedly tipping off the CIA in 2023 that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was plotting a mutiny against Putin.
3. AIVD and MIVD (Netherlands)
The Dutch services punch well above their size, having quietly joined some of the most consequential covert missions of the last twenty years. Alongside the CIA, they helped train Ukrainian operatives in 2016 and 2017, and the AIVD now hosts a European counterterrorism intelligence hub.
4. SSU and Defense Intelligence (Ukraine)
Kyiv’s spies earned admiration for sheer daring, with one European intelligence chief likening them to the Mossad. Their resume includes the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, the audacious Operation Spiderweb, and a string of assassinations targeting Russian generals. Still, some allies remain wary that Russian moles may have infiltrated the ranks.
5. BND (Germany)
Germany’s foreign intelligence service earns respect for methodical, analytical work, especially at spotting subtle political and economic shifts. But peers are less convinced about its appetite for classic espionage abroad, with some jokingly comparing BND officers to think tank researchers rather than field spies.
Source: L’Express
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