# VSSE The Veiligheid van de Staat / Sûreté de l'État (State Security Service) is Belgium's civilian intelligence agency — responsible for counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and monitoring extremist organizations. Belgium participates in the [[Fourteen Eyes]] (SIGINT Seniors Europe) intelligence-sharing arrangement. Belgium's position as host to NATO headquarters, the European Union institutions, and numerous international organizations makes it a high-priority target for foreign intelligence operations — and gives the VSSE a counterintelligence mission disproportionate to Belgium's size. The March 2016 Brussels bombings (32 killed at Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station) exposed significant intelligence coordination failures between Belgian security services, prompting reorganization of the country's counterterrorism architecture. ## See Also - [[Fourteen Eyes]] — the intelligence-sharing tier - [[Global Intelligence Hub]] — full agency index