Brussels, 01/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - European leaders have expressed their concerns and disappointment following the weekend's revelation in Der Spiegel newspaper that US intelligence services, the National Security Agency (NSA), had also spied on the offices of the European Union, at the Justus Lipsius building, and in EU representation offices and a number of member state embassies in Washington. Some EU leaders were quick to spell out that the conduct of the transatlantic trade negotiations would depend on the explanations provided by the US government.
On Monday afternoon, Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen, the Commission spokesperson, explained that, given the spy scandals over the past few weeks, including the initial revelations on the existence of the PRISM programme that targeted individuals and all their private communications, Europe had again requested this weekend that their US ally provide “clarity and transparency” over these allegations and an inquiry to prove or disprove the veracity of the claims made. Responses are expected very soon, possibly before Monday 8 July, the date on which the first round of negotiations on the future free-trade agreement is due to take place.
Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, said that these discussions should clearly be put on hold until Washington explained itself with regard to the claims of its spying on its allies. Speaking in Luxembourg on Sunday, the Commissioner declared during a public debate that “partners should not be spying on each other! We cannot negotiate a comprehensive transatlantic market if there is the slightest doubt that our partners are bugging the offices of European negotiators. The US has to quash these doubts immediately”. Reding has reason enough to take a tough line, given that the US Minister for Justice, Eric Holder, has still not answered her letter of 10 June or the letter from Commissioner Cecilia Malmström concerning the extent of the PRISM programme.
On Monday, the spokesperson for Mr Barroso refused to comment on the possible effect on the first round of negotiations. Some of the groups at the EP, such as the Greens/EFA, have called for this round of talks to be cancelled but did suggest, however, that the round should be subject to explanations by the US prior to negotiations.
On Saturday, Der Spiegel quoted a confidential NSA document dated September 2010 and transmitted by the former NSA employee in exile, Edward Snowden. It describes the methods used for bugging offices and spying on internal computer networks in Washington and at the UN. The agency not only apparently listened into telephone conversations but had access to documents and e-mails. According to Der Spiegel, the US has in the past accessed, on average, 500,000 telephone conversations, e-mails and text messages a month from Germany alone. France, Italy and Greece have in their different ways been affected as well.
According to the spokesperson for Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, the information revealed is not recent and the EU's offices in New York and Washington have both moved since the date of the spying allegations. Michael Mann, Ashton's spokesman indicated that “we have a completely new security system”. On Monday, the Commission indicated that it would undertake a comprehensive inspection of its installations and check their security.
These revelations have, nonetheless, created a certain amount of trouble between the US and Europe because, according to one European source, this time the affair is quite serious and, “embarrassing for both the Europeans and Americans” whose practices are now all out in the open. On Monday, several politicians, particularly in France, called for a cautious approach to be adopted in the discussions on the future free-trade agreement. According to AFP, the French minister responsible for trade, Nicole Bricq, said that these negotiations would be “difficult if trust has been broken”.
According to one source, the ball is still largely “in the court of the Commission” adding that “it is the Commission which has the mandate and it is up to this institution whether it goes ahead or not with this round on 8 July or postpones it until later”. Legally, it would be very difficult for a member state to request a freeze on these discussions were frozen and to obtain approval for this suggestion. According to our source quoted above, the Commission will also find it difficult to ignore the political impact that this affair will have in certain member states, particularly in Germany, which is just a few months away from its elections. The response from Germany was not long in coming either. The Minister for Justice, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, was quick to point out shortly after the revelation of these allegations that “the US must immediately provide a detailed explanation regarding the authenticity or not of these press reports…”
The leader of the ALDE Group, Guy Verhofstadt, also said that the EP should set up a special enquiry, as in the “Echelon” network affair. On Monday, Ashton urged the US Secretary of State to provide clarification of the situation soon but John Kerry was cautious in his response and would only promise to find out exactly what had happened and pointed out that every country was engaged in many different activities to protect its national security and that this was not unusual for a lot of countries. (SP/transl.fl)