Do We Need a European Intelligence Service?

An outlook on the future of surveillance at EU level in light of Edward Snowdens recent revelations.

Corina Cristea, 15.11.2013, 12:59

56% of Americans believe that tapping the phones of allied leaders, such as Angela Merkel, is unacceptable, according to a recent poll. The poll indicates that both Democrats and Republicans oppose this form of surveillance. Around 22% of Americans also say that they have been following what Edward Snowden, the former NSA analyst, told the press. His statements caused a storm in Europe, especially in Germany, where the alleged tapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone caused a shock.

Snowden took refuge in Russia, where demands for extradition fell on deaf ears. Senior British intelligence service managers say that Snowden’s leaks endanger their work, speaking in a public session of the British Parliament, called in an effort to regain credibility. The head of MI5, Andrew Parker, pointed out that, since 2005, electronic eavesdropping has thwarted 34 terrorist plots, which could have left thousands dead.

The heads of British intelligence said that they tap daily conversations between the leaders of terror groups from the Middle East, Afghanistan and South Asia, who talk about Snowden’s leaks and are now considering dropping the use of means of communication which they now believe are vulnerable. The Independent writes that documents leaked by the former NSA analyst and aerial photos indicate that the UK has a secret high-tech listening station close to the Bundestag and Merkel’s office. According to the same daily paper, a similar listening station can be seen on the roof the US Embassy in Berlin, less than 150 meters from British diplomatic offices, but has been closed after allegations of phone tapping were published.

President Barack Obama said that he does not ask questions about the source of the intelligence he is provided with by his intelligence services, except when it comes to hostile states or terrorism. The US president told NBC that he is deeply involved in intelligence operations, but only when he believes there are real threats to the security of the US. Here is Radio Romania’s Washington correspondent Ani Sandu, telling us more:

“American officials insist that the intelligence gathering programs used by the NSA must be preserved, in spite of calls on the US government to cease such practices. In a hearing with an independent organization providing confidentiality, representatives of the NSA, FBI and the DOJ emphasized the fact that the efforts of the American government are meant to defend the country and its allies against potential terrorist threats. They said that the monitoring programs outside the US are subject to strict controls, in line with current American legislation. Fresh questions were raised after the US press published allegations that the NSA taps directly into data from Yahoo and Google users, from servers outside the US. According to leaks made by Edward Snowden, American citizens are being targeted by this data collection. US laws do not allow surveillance of Americans without a court order. The general council of the NSA said at the hearing that information appearing in the press was inaccurate, but did not volunteer further details. In the meantime, Google said it was indignant at the fact that the NSA has accessed secretly the data of its users.”

EU Commissioner for Justice Viviane Reding said that the NSA needed to have a countermeasure in the European line-up. Viviane Reding said that a European intelligence service needed to be created in order to provide a response to American spying of European citizens and institutions.