Portugal's intelligence services ranked 19th in Europe, cited as authority in Southern Africa

A study published by the French magazine L'Express ranked European intelligence agencies, placing the United Kingdom's MI6 at the top, followed by France's DGSE and the Netherlands' AIVD. Portugal's Serviço de Informações Estratégicas de Defesa (Strategic Defense Intelligence Service) was placed 19th out of 21 agencies.

The report noted that European services with interests in African affairs regularly consult the Belgian and Portuguese agencies, describing them as the leading authorities on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Africa respectively. The ranking was based on the opinions of 60 experts from 25 countries.

The article also quoted former CIA station chief Robert Gorelick praising MI6 as "the strongest intelligence service in Europe" and cited former CIA officer Susan Miller recalling that after the September 11 attacks, the United States attempted to share analyses with friendly nations, including Portugal, even though Portugal had little to contribute at the time.