14 DAY TRIAL // The White House might be saying that they weren’t snooping on Angela Merkel, but it doesn’t mean the Germans are buying what they’re selling.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the German authorities feared the NSA had been listening in on Angela Merkel’s phone for a while, which, of course, isn’t a far-fetched allegation, considering it wasn’t long ago that reports indicated the NSA had been spying on the Brazilian president, as well as the former and current presidents of Mexico.
During a phone call, Obama has reportedly denied everything, which, again, was perfectly expectable.
Despite reassurances, the German Foreign Minister, Guido Wasterwelle has summoned the US ambassador and they’re set to meet this afternoon.
Other politicians in Germany are also reacting badly and understandably so.
“If what we are now hearing is true, that would be really bad. The Americans are and remain our closest friends, but this is completely unacceptable,” said the German Defense Minister, Thomas de Maiziere.
This time, the issue can’t be set aside. It can’t be treated with the same “give us an answer when you have it” such as previous demands that were left unanswered, referring to the NSA spying on Germany, which was revealed a couple of months ago.
The urgency to clear this matter is obvious through several other moves taken by the European Union this week. On one hand, a decision has been made in regards to new data protection laws that have been on the backburner for years. This implies that US Internet companies will need to abide by European laws or face major fines.
Another decision is the suspension of the United States from accessing the SWIFT database, which reports indicated they have already breached.
While the decisions are mostly symbolic, they do represent the stance the European Union is taking against the United States when it comes to protecting innocent citizens.