EU constructing €8m 'spy-proof' bunker for secret talks

The EU is building an €8m secure bunker in Brussels so that leaders can discuss secrets without Russian or other eavesdroppers, according to an EU memo describing the project, seen by EUobserver.

The chamber could host around 100 people - up to 34 leaders and their 34 note-takers, as well as protocol, technical, and catering staff.

The room will be offline but equipped with internal big-screen conferencing technology and microphones hardwired to equally secure booths for 30 interpreters.

And both the meeting room and booths will be enclosed in a Nato-certified insulation cage to "mitigate the risk of exploitation of compromising emanations" - electro-magnetic and radio waves generated by IT screens and wires, which can be remotely intercepted.

Anyone who goes in, even if they're a cleaner, must have "SECRET EU" security clearance and a "need-to-know" reason for being there.

SECRET EU is the bloc's second-highest level of classification. It covers information that could "seriously harm" EU interests if it got out. Leaks could "raise international tensions" or "threaten life" or "public order" in Europe, according to EU security guidelines.

And EU leaders and staff will have to leave their phones, laptops, smart watches, electronic key fobs and even hearing aids in soundproof lockers outside the chamber.

The facility is to be built by 2024 in the EU Council complex in Brussels, which already hosts summits. The exact location has not been decided yet, but officials are looking for somewhere near the normal EU summit room so that leaders can go back and forth more easily.