EU-U.S. talks on 'possible legal remedies' over spying

 

 

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EU-U.S. talks on 'possible legal remedies' over spying
10/30/2013 11:15:04 AM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• EU delegation raises concerns over U.S. spying on its citizens
• The delegation has been in Washington since Monday
• Germany's own delegation is in Washington too
• American intelligence leaders are starting to push back on accusations

(CNN) -- A delegation of European Union officials will continue their fact finding mission Wednesday when they meet with White House officials over recent revelations that the National Security Agency spied on European leaders and their citizens.

The European Parliament's civil liberties committee has been in Washington since Monday, and has already met with officials from the State Department, Capitol Hill, and various intelligence agencies.

At the White House today, the group will meet with Karen Donfried, who is the senior director for European affairs for the National Security Council, to discuss the impact that U.S. surveillance programs have had on EU citizens.

The talks were described as an opportunity to explore "possible legal remedies for EU citizens" that were affected by U.S. surveillance. Specific examples of possible remedies were not detailed.

But as European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel along with her French and Spanish counterparts, have reacted with indignation and fury at the allegations of surveillance, leaders within the American intelligence community have begun to publicly push back.

The head of the National Security Agency, Army Gen. Keith Alexander, denied Tuesday that the United States collected telephone and e-mail records directly from European citizens, calling reports based on leaks by Edward Snowden "completely false."

Alexander along with his colleague James Clapper who is the Director of National Intelligence was testifying before the House Intelligence Committee, where a growing number of lawmakers have called for a review of the process on intelligence gathering.

Clapper went even further; telling lawmakers that such covert spying among nations was a "fundamental given," including attempts to access their communications.

The White House has already said it would reexamine the process by which such intelligence was collected. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday, "we need to look at and make sure that we are not just gathering intelligence because we can, but we're gathering it because we need it", adding the review was currently underway and should be completed by the end of the year.

The EU delegation will have their chance to address all the allegations Wednesday at their press conference. Thus far, the members have not spoken publicly on their meetings.

Germany is sending a separate delegation to the White House on Wednesday, after reports of Merkel's phone being tapped resulted in the German chancellor's announcement that her country's confidence in the United States had been "shaken."

NSC spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said the meeting between the Germans and the White House comes after "in their recent telephone conversation, President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to intensify further the cooperation between U.S. and German intelligence services."

 

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