European spies can stop holding back secrets from the US after Biden called for end to Trump's briefings, sources say

• Since Biden took office, allied intelligence agencies appear more willing to share secrets.
• Sources told Insider they are reassured by President Biden's call to end his predecessor's briefings.
• Some allies were spooked and held back after Trump shared secret information with Russia in 2017.

Moves by President Joe Biden to restrict Donald Trump's access to intelligence has reassured European allies that they can share freely with the US again, sources told Insider.

Officials in three different intelligence services in Europe responded warmly to comments by Biden in his first TV interview as president, where he said he didn't want Trump to keep getting intelligence briefings.

Previous presidents have been given the briefings as a courtesy, which the current president can cancel at any time.

Though Biden said he saw no need for Trump to keep getting briefed, he stopped short of saying definitively that he would cut him off.

Nonetheless, the move reassured the intelligence officials Insider spoke to, all of whom requested anonymity because of the nature of their work.

One, a senior official for a European country that's also a member of NATO, said: "This was expected and is a bit of a symbolic move - but it puts an end into the extraordinary situation where services like ours became reluctant to share key intelligence details because of fears these details would filter up from the national security community to the president, who would then tell them to the Russian ambassador."

He was referring to an incident in the first month of the Trump administration where Trump shared critical intelligence with the Russian ambassador that could have revealed an Israeli intelligence source related to ISIS.

The incident shocked US allies, whose officials suggested that they became reluctant to share information which could end up with Trump.

Biden in his interview seemed to have similar scenarios in mind when he cited the risk that Trump "might slip and say something" as a reason to restrict his access.

The intelligence official continued: "There had been concerns about Trump based on his reputation for criminal behavior and close ties to Russian elements ... considered suspicious at best," said the official.

"And many things have happened since 2017 - none of them good I might add - but that was the point everyone became much more careful about sharing with the Americans."

(The source did not expand on what other incidents he meant - and though there have been accusations made about Trump's closeness with Russia, little evidence has been presented and he has not been charged with any crimes.)

Two other sources with EU member states agreed with the first source that Biden's stance would restore trust and improve intelligence sharing that had been stressed by the Trump administration.

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Both sources, however, refused to comment further or be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Not all US allies view the change of administration in the same way. A retired Israeli official, who requested anonymity because he still assists the government with some intelligence matters, conceded that the January 2017 incident caused concern.

But he said it did not affect the overall relationship too much, and that Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, "cannot complain about its treatment by the Trump administration."

When asked if Israeli officials cut down on sharing with the US, he only said: "Mossad is always careful sharing information and intelligence. You never give it to anyone except for a very good reason. So everything becomes considered."

The relationship was too good to worry about lapses from Trump, said the Israeli.

"When you agree on critical policies it becomes easy to make adjustments for personality," said the official. Israel and Trump were closely aligned on issues including how to handle Iran.

The first official Insider spoke to pointed to Biden's increased willingness to confront Russia's Vladimir Putin was also being felt already.

"The substance of cooperation and honest effort to confront Putin can already be felt," said the official.

"Things have quickly returned to normal and one reason they have is that Europe and its American ally can speak freely about what we know about Putin. Not being able to do so encouraged Putin and made us all weaker."