EU Alarm over US Spying Claim

Fugitive ex-CIA analyst Edward Snowden leaked the paper, which alleges that the US spied on EU offices in New York and Washington, Der Spiegel says. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The head of the European Parliament has demanded "full clarification" from the US over a report that key EU premises in America have been bugged.

If this was true, it would have a "severe impact" on ties between the EU and the US, Martin Schulz said, as cited by BBC.

In a statement on Saturday, Schulz said: "On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the US authorities with regard to these allegations."

Der Spiegel also quotes Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn as saying: "If these reports are true, it's disgusting. The United States would be better off monitoring its secret services rather than its allies."

The report, carried by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, cites a secret 2010 document alleging that the US spied on EU offices in New York and Washington.

Fugitive ex-CIA analyst Edward Snowden leaked the paper, Der Spiegel says.
Snowden - a former contractor for the CIA and also the National Security Agency (NSA) - has since requested asylum in Ecuador.

According to the document - which Der Spiegel says comes from the NSA - the agency spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the 27-member bloc's UN office in New York.

The document also allegedly referring to the EU as a "target".

It is not known what information US spies might have got, but details of European positions on to trade and military matters would have been useful to those involved in negotiations between Washington and European governments, the BBC's Stephen Evans says.

The US government has so far made no public comments on the Spiegel's report.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!