Post date: Jul 01, 2013 10:19:53 PM
German magazine says NSA tapped EU offices leading some EU politicians call for suspension of free trade talks
WASHINGTON, D.C., AND NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES (REUTERS) - The European Union on Monday (July 1) is demanding that the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the group, using strong language to confront its closest trading partner over its alleged surveillance activities.
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said on Sunday that U.S. authorities were immediately contacted about a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the U.S. spy agency had tapped EU offices in Washington, Brussels and at the United Nations.U.S. authorities have indicated they are checking on the accuracy of the information released yesterday and will come back to us as soon as possible," she said.
France has also asked for an explanation.
The U.S. government said it would respond through diplomatic channels.
Several EU policymakers said talks on a U.S.-EU free trade deal should be frozen until Washington clarifies its activities.
The Guardian newspaper said in an article late on Sunday that the United States had also targeted non-European allies for spying.
Citing a September 2010 NSA document, the British newspaper said that "Along with traditional ideological adversaries and sensitive Middle Eastern countries, the list of targets includes the EU missions and the French, Italian and Greek embassies, as well as a number of other American allies, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India and Turkey."
Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that the National Security Agency bugged EU offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, the latest revelation of alleged U.S. spying that has prompted outrage from EU politicians.
The magazine followed up on Sunday with a report that the U.S. agency taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month, much more than any other European peer and similar to the data tapped in China or Iraq.
Revelations about the U.S. surveillance program, which was made public by fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, have raised a furor in the United States and abroad over the balance between privacy rights and national security.
The extent to which Washington's EU allies are being monitored emerged is a particular concern inEurope.
Germany's federal prosecutor's office, which has authority in matters of national security, said it was looking into whether or not it should start an investigation. Criminal charges are expected to be filed.
Germans are particularly sensitive about government monitoring, having lived through the Stasi secret police in the former communist East Germany and with lingering memories of the Gestapo of Hitler's Nazi regime.
Some EU policymakers said talks for a free trade agreement between Washington and the EU should be put on ice until further clarification from the United States.