The United States has accused EU leaders of spying

A report released by the Danish press accused the United States of involvement in the country’s spying campaign against EU politicians and officials. Leaders from Germany, France, Norway and Sweden are said to have been targeted in the operation, which allowed access to emails, messages and other diplomatic communications to be kept secret.

This work would have been done with the approval of the Danish Intelligence and Security Service (FE, in its original abbreviation), which would have given the NSA (National Security Agency, abbreviation in English) access to the country’s Internet cables. So, Americans can have access to official communications that will go there and travel to Europe or other parts of the world. Leaders spied on by the United States include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, foreign affairs officials and the country’s opposition leaders.

Information released by the Danish state radio and television service DR indicates at least one activity that took place between 2012 and 2014. The report on the case, dubbed Operation Dunhammer, was finalized by the country’s authorities in 2015, but has now been made public.

These findings are further linked to the facts published by activist Edward Snowden in 2013. At the time, he had already exposed an international intelligence program run by the NSA, focusing on accessing text calls and communications from at least 35 heads of state worldwide, including allies. Merkel was already part of a list released eight years ago, including then-Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

German President and French President Emmanuel Macron denied the findings during a conference on Monday. The two considered reports that spying between allies was unacceptable and demanded that the United States and Denmark be transparent with information about the case. Pierre Steinbrook, Germany’s former finance minister, who spied on running for office with the current president, called the news “gruesome.”

The United States, on the other hand, acted decisively. In response to a request from the American press, government spokesmen said the information was not new and should not come as a surprise to anyone, as it was common for allies to spy on each other. Like the NSA representatives, the Danish government did not comment on the matter.

President Barack Obama, who led the United States during the protests, has already apologized to Merkel and other international leaders, saying he was unaware of the spy campaigns and would have taken action if he had known about them. Now, the issue will meet part of the discussions between current US President Joe Biden and the G7, the group of seven richest nations in the world, from June 16 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Source: D.R., CNN, Washington Post