Free Republic

The European Union calls for explanations from the US as Germany reels from new NSA spy claims. German magazine Der Spiegel cites a top secret document in the hands of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, which shows that the US classed Germany as a ‘third class’ partner which required surveillance similar to China, Iraq or Saudi Arabia. Around 20 million German phone and 10 million internet connections were being monitored on an average day. Responding to reports that the EU was tapped by the US agency, the European Parliament President Martin Schulz said he was ‘deeply worried and shocked’....

America's NSA intelligence service allegedly targeted the European Union with its spying activities. According to SPIEGEL information, the US placed bugs in the EU representation in Washington and infiltrated its computer network. Cyber attacks were also perpetrated against Brussels in New York and Washington. Information obtained by SPIEGEL shows that America's National Security Agency (NSA) not only conducted online surveillance of European citizens, but also appears to have specifically targeted buildings housing European Union institutions. The information appears in secret documents obtained by whistleblower Edward Snowden that SPIEGEL has in part seen. A "top secret" 2010 document describes how the...

<p>The prospects for a new trade pact between the US and the European Union worth hundreds of billions have suffered a severe setback following allegations that Washington bugged key EU offices and intercepted phonecalls and emails from top officials.</p> <p>The latest reports of NSA snooping on Europe – and on Germany in particular – went well beyond previous revelations of electronic spying said to be focused on identifying suspected terrorists, extremists and organised criminals.</p>