The French publication L’Express has published what it describes as the first comprehensive ranking of European intelligence services, placing Bulgaria among the weakest-performing countries while the United Kingdom's MI6 secured the top position. The assessment is based on interviews with around 100 intelligence professionals and a vote by a 60-member jury that included 17 current or former intelligence chiefs, as well as representatives of the U.S. CIA and Israel's Mossad.
The ranking was modeled on the voting systems used for the Ballon d'Or and the Eurovision Song Contest. Intelligence professionals evaluated their European counterparts across a broad range of capabilities, including human intelligence (HUMINT), recruitment of undercover agents, cyber espionage, covert operations, sabotage, technical intelligence gathering, and influence campaigns.
Britain's MI6 topped the ranking with 251 points. According to L’Express, it remains Europe's most influential foreign intelligence service, particularly because of its ability to build long-term networks of trusted sources inside rival countries.
Former CIA station chief Robert Gorelick praised the British service, saying, "The United Kingdom has the strongest intelligence services in Europe. MI6 is exceptional." The publication highlighted MI6's success in recruiting high-level sources within the political and military establishments of countries such as Russia, China, and Iran. Its reputation was further strengthened by its early warnings in late 2021 about Russia's planned invasion of Ukraine. Since the war began, Britain has remained one of Kyiv's closest intelligence partners.
