Merkel says phone tapping unacceptable breach of trust
Print Edition
German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused the United States of an unacceptable breach of trust yesterday after allegations that the US bugged her personal mobile phone, and she suggested data-sharing agreements with Washington may need revising.
Arriving for a two-day summit in Brussels where the broad economic and social policy agenda has been overshadowed by allegations of eavesdropping by the US National Security Agency against Italy, France and Germany, Merkel said she had told US President Barack Obama in a telephone conversation late on Wednesday that the acts were unacceptable.
“It’s not just about me but about every German citizen. We need to have trust in our allies and partners, and this trust must now be established once again,” she told reporters. “I repeat that spying among friends is not at all acceptable against anyone, and that goes for every citizen in Germany.”
The stern words follow an announcement by the German government on Wednesday that it had seen evidence suggesting the chancellor’s mobile was “monitored” by the NSA.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama had assured Merkel in their telephone call that the United States “is not monitoring and will not monitor” her communications, leaving open the possibility that it had happened in the past.
In Berlin, the Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to complain, while Germany’s defense minister said that Europe can’t simply return to business as usual in trans-Atlantic ties following a string of reports that the US was spying on its allies.
Merkel’s chief of staff Ronald Pofalla said officials would make “unmistakably clear” to US Ambassador John B. Emerson “that we expect all open questions to be answered.”
Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere told ARD television the alleged surveillance would be “really bad” if confirmed. “The Americans are and remain our best friends, but this is absolutely not right,” he said.
“I have reckoned for years with my cellphone being monitored, but I wasn’t reckoning with the Americans,” said de Maiziere, who was previously Merkel’s chief of staff and Germany’s interior minister. “We can’t simply return to business as usual,” de Maiziere said when asked about possible effects on US-German and US-European relations.
Germany’s frustration follows outrage in France after Le Monde newspaper reported the NSA had collected tens of thousands of French phone records between December 2012 and January 2013, and an Italian news magazine reported yesterday that the NSA had monitored sensitive Italian telecommunications.
Merkel, who has previously discussed a “no spying” agreement with the United States, hinted that data-sharing deals with Washington may need to be relooked at, a potentially damaging blow for US efforts to collect counter-terrorism information.
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