According to the latest files leaked to The Guardian newspaper France, Greece and Italy have been the “targets” of US spying operations.
Citing a document by the National Security Agency (NSA), it says America’s non-European allies were also targeted.
The claim follows a report by Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine saying EU offices had been bugged. EU leaders have demanded an explanation from the US.
Fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden is said to have leaked the documents.
Edward Snowden – a former contractor for the CIA and the NSA – has since requested asylum from Ecuador. He is currently in Russia, marooned at Moscow’s airport after US authorities cancelled his passport.
In response to the allegations in Der Spiegel, senior EU officials, France and Germany have warned warning that relations with America could suffer.
The NSA said the US government would respond through diplomatic channels and discussions with the countries involved.
According to a 2010 secret document leaked to the Guardian, all in all 38 embassies and missions were described by the NSA as “targets”.
A report by Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine revealed EU offices had been bugged
The paper says the file provides details of “an extraordinary range” of spying methods, including bugs implanted in electronic communications gear, taps into cable and the usage of specialized antennae.
The report mentions codenames of alleged operations against the French and Greek missions to the UN, as well as the Italian embassy in Washington.
The paper adds that the list of targets also includes “a number of other American allies, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India and Turkey”.
The Guardian also cites another leaked report from 2007, which said a bug was placed in an encrypted fax machine at the EU mission in Washington.
According to the document cited by Der Spiegel – which it says also 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.
On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that if confirmed, the activities would be “totally unacceptable”.
German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said the alleged US behavior “recalls the methods used by enemies during the Cold War”.
The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, warned that any such spying could have a “severe impact” on ties between the EU and the US.
The European Commission, which plays a key role in trade talks, has officially asked Washington to investigate the allegations.
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Germany and France are urging the US to come clean over claims that its intelligence services have been spying on key European Union offices.
A report in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine said EU offices in the US and Europe had been bugged.
Other “targets” included the French, Italian and Greek embassies in the US, according to leaked documents later mentioned by the Guardian newspaper.
Fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden is said to be the source of the leaks.
Edward Snowden – who was also a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) – has since requested asylum in Ecuador. He is currently believed to be staying at Moscow’s airport.
On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that if the allegations carried by Der Spiegel were confirmed, such US activities would be “totally unacceptable”.
German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said the alleged US behavior was reminiscent of the Cold War.
“If the media reports are accurate, then this recalls the methods used by enemies during the Cold War,” she was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
“It is beyond comprehension that our friends in the United States see Europeans as enemies.”
Meanwhile, the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz said he was “deeply worried and shocked” by the allegations.
He said any such spying could have a “severe impact” on ties between the EU and the US.
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 refers to the EU as a “target”.
Edward Snowden is believed to be currently staying at Moscow’s airport
Meanwhile, the Guardian reported that – according to one leaked report – 38 embassies and missions had been targeted.
The Guardian said the list included the French, Italian and Greek embassies, as well as a number of other American allies, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India and Turkey.
It is not known what information US spies might have got, but details of European positions on trade and military matters would have been useful to those involved in negotiations between Washington and European governments.
There was particular concerns over claims a building used by ministers in Brussels had its phones tapped and internet hacked by US security services.
The European Commission, which plays a key role in trade talks, has asked Washington to investigate Der Spiegel‘s report.
“We have immediately been in contact with the US authorities in Washington DC and in Brussels and have confronted them with the press reports,” it said in a statement.
“They have told us they are checking on the accuracy of the information released yesterday and will come back to us.”
The US government has so far made no public comments on the allegations.
Der Spiegel quoted 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.”
Edward Snowden is believed to be currently staying at Moscow’s airport. He arrived there last weekend from Hong Kong, where he had been staying since he revealed details of top secret US surveillance programmes.
The US has charged him with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
In an interview with ABC television, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dismissed remarks by US Secretary of State John Kerry that people could die as a result of Edward Snowden’s revelations.
“We have heard this rhetoric. I myself was subject to precisely this rhetoric two, three years ago. And it all proved to be false,” he said.
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Martin Schulz, 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.
Martin Schulz said that if this was true, it would have a “severe impact” on ties between the EU and the US.
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 whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked the paper, Der Spiegel says.
Edward 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.
In a statement on Saturday, Martin Shultz 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.”
The European Parliament has demanded full clarification from the US over a report that key EU premises in America have been bugged
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 US government has so far made no public comments on the Spiegel’s report.
Edward Snowden is believed to be currently staying at Moscow’s airport. He arrived there last weekend from Hong Kong, where he had been staying since he revealed details of top secret US surveillance programmes.
The US has charged him with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
On Saturday, US Vice-President Joe Biden and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa held a telephone conversation about Edward Snowden’s asylum request.
According to Rafael Correa, Joe Biden had “passed on a polite request from the United States to reject the request”.
The left-wing Ecuadorian leader said his answer was: “Mr. vice-president, thanks for calling. We hold the United States in high regard. We did not seek to be in this situation.”
If Edward Snowden ever came to “Ecuadoran soil” with his request, he added, “the first people whose opinion we will seek is that of the United States”.
Quito earlier said it was willing to consider Edward Snowden’s request but only when he was physically in the Latin American country.
Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said only that Joe Biden and Rafael Correa had held a wide-ranging conversation.
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