US Undermines Reports of Spying on EU

Local Editor

Responding for the first time to allegations that Washington spied on the European Union and other allies, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday Nearly all national governments, not just the United States, use "lots of activities" to safeguard their interests and security."

The EU has strongly demanded that the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the group, saying that, if true, the alleged surveillance was "shocking".

Kerry had confirmed that EU High Representative Catherine Ashton had raised the issue with him in a meeting with him in Brunei but gave no further details of their exchange.

"I will say that every country in the world that is engaged in international affairs and national security undertakes lots of activities to protect its national security and all kinds of information contribute to that," Kerry told a news conference.

Moreover, EU policymakers said talks for a free trade agreement between Washington and the EU should be frozen until further clarification.

"I was always sure that dictatorships, some authoritarian systems, tried to listen ... but measures like that are now practiced by an ally, by a friend, that is shocking, in the case that it is true," Martin Schulz, president of the EU Parliament, said in an interview with France 2.

US National Security Agency is spying on the European Union mission in New York and its embassy in Washington, according to the latest leaks from former CIA contractor Edward Snowden.

One document lists 38 embassies and missions, describing them as "targets", including bugs implanted in electronic communications to tap into cables and collection of transmissions with specialized antennae.

The list of "targets" included 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, Turkey as well as Middle Eastern countries.

Source: News Agencies, edited by website team