Belgium Is Reforming the State Security Service

A competitive selection process is underway in Belgium to appoint directors for the four directorates of the State Security Service (VSSE). Their appointments will complete the formation of the agency’s renewed Steering Committee.

The VSSE is a civilian intelligence and security service founded in 1830 and reporting to the Ministry of Justice. The agency is responsible for counterintelligence, countering terrorism, extremism, and foreign interference, as well as identifying threats to the state’s internal and external security. Currently, the VSSE employs over 900 staff members; Director General Francisca Bostyn has led the service since 2022.

On August 18, 2025, a royal decree approved a new organizational structure for the VSSE’s leadership, which took effect on September 1. The service now consists of four Directorates: Strategic Intelligence, Operational Intelligence, Security, and Cross-Functional Support – each to be headed by a separate director reporting to the Director General.

Directors will be selected based on the results of testing and interviews before the selection committee, after which the director general and his deputy will conduct additional interviews and rank the candidates. The winner will be recommended to the Minister of Justice. The term of office is five years, with the possibility of a one-time extension; a mandatory requirement is clearance for “top secret” information.

The government explains the reorganization as a result of implementing the recommendations of the parliamentary commission investigating terrorist attacks, the integration of the National Security Agency into the VSSE, and the need to unify the status of operational personnel and analysts.

These changes are taking place against the background of a more complex security environment: the intensification of foreign intelligence networks and the growing burden of protecting critical EU and NATO infrastructure. The creation of a separate strategic center will cement a shift in the VSSE’s priorities – from responding to current incidents to the early detection of foreign influence networks.